The Chief Executive Officer of Public Sector Reforms, Thomas Kusi Boafo has said the agricultural sector failed under the erstwhile John Mahama but says Akufo-Addo’s leadership has witnessed a tremendous improvement in that sector.

According to him, the former President failed to prioritize the agricultural sector, resulting in the low number of Agric Extension Officers, low harvests and lack of financing for the sector.

Mr. Kusi Boafo said, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government has provided some interventions in the agriculture sector such as the Planting for Food and Jobs, Planting for Export and Rural Development, among other programmes to create job avenues for the youth.

Speaking in an interview with Lawyer Ohene Gyan on ‘Pae Mu Ka’ on Kingdom FM 107.7, Mr. Thomas Kusi Boafo said, “Government is doing everything possible to put agriculture on the part of the transformation. Since assuming office, we have left no one in doubt about the importance of agriculture.”

To this end, he stressed that “we need to raise agriculture to a higher plane to be able to improve on the quality of life for our people.’

However, he said the contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could not be overemphasised and that with the right policies and adequate budgetary provision, the sector would provide the impetus for rapid industrialization of the country.

He mentioned that our policies and interventions dominate over the full agricultural value chain and would develop more job opportunities in the areas of storage, transport, processing, packaging and marketing of agricultural highlighting the higher income for farmers and fisherfolk.

Background

According to the Government, the Planting for Food and Jobs programme created in its first year alone created some 745,000 jobs.

The Planting for Food and Jobs programme is a flagship policy of the governing New Patriotic Party.

Launched by the president Akufo-Addo last year the programme is to help address the declining growth of the agricultural sector of the country.