Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto is leaving his job as agricultural minister to contest in the NPP’s Presidential Primaries which will ultimately elect the party’s flagbearer sometime this year for the 2024 elections. These dynamics are the rules of the game toward the epic presidential primaries in the governing party.
Barring the unforeseen, the Minister of Food and Agriculture will step down and roll up his sleeves for the fierce political battle ahead. This comes just days after another presidential hopeful, Trade and Industry minister, Alan Kyeremanten resigned from his position for the same reasons.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has communicated his intentions to the President of the Republic and is set to move to the next stage of submitting his resignation letter anytime soon. He says, for two years now he has firmly been on the ground canvassing the support of delegates to ensure that his political ambition which translates as a platform for the realization of the wishes of the people of Ghana, becomes a reality.
He said he cares about the people hence the introduction of ”planting for food and jobs market” at designated centers for the public to obtain commodities at affordable prices. He described it as a success for it was oversubscribed. The Agric Minister notes, that it is possible to create a Ghana of not just food sufficiency but a wealthy country if the potential in agriculture is properly harnessed.
The outgoing minister of agriculture is of the view that much as he is human and not infallible, most of the negatives pointed at him from some sources might have emanated from or been remote-controlled by some of the unknown adversaries to throw spanners in his political project. He then laid bare the facts with regard to achievements chalked up by the Akufo Addo administration in the sector that he led. Between 2020 to 2022 agriculture had been on a linear growth from 4.7, 7.4, and 8.4 percent which the minister described as unprecedented in the sector.
According to him, while neighboring Cote d’Ivoire earns 22 billion dollars in exports of five cash crops, he sees no reason why Ghana cannot do the same or more, which is why he caused the establishment of the Tree Crop Development Company to oversee the affairs of five cash crops other than cocoa, with estimated annual revenue of 12 billion dollars for starters. Cocoa fetches Ghana 2 billion dollars and cashew 350 million dollars annually, this Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto says has room for improvement with adequate funding.
He said, one of the greatest interventions to be verified and testified was the access to farm inputs with subsidization, under the Planting for Food and Jobs Policy.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, son of Baffour Akoto, a traditional ruler in Kumasi who pioneered the Danquah-Busia-Dombo political tradition, now the NPP, is a Cambridge University scholar. He moved to England after completing the University of Ghana, Legon. The former Kwadaso MP says he will win the party’s flagbearer slot, and with the help of God earn the ultimate which could grant him a firm grip to achieve the bigger vision of making Ghana a better place for citizens.
