18th January, 2016

Writing under the heading, "lets attach more seriousness to our Agriculture, the Daily Graphic states bluntly that over the years the country has touted agriculture as the mainstay of the economy yet it is one sector that has been neglected. 

The paper says there is no doubt that quite a large number of the population is engaged in Agriculture yet they do not make any reasonable returns because investments are low and it is usually the poor that engage in farming. 

According to the paper these are reasons cited by economists as hindering the fortunes of agric in the country. 

The Graphic takes a swipe at past governments for not pursuing very practical policies in the Agric sector and discarding the "operation feed yourself" programme by the Acheampong government as well as the building of irrigations, dams and silos. 

The Graphic is of the believe that if the current government religiously pursue its plans of revitalising the Agriculture sector, it will make good the dream of that sector transforming the economy, curtail waste in the system and guarantee food sufficiency and even surplus for export. 

                            
Still on agriculture, The Ghanaian Times applauds the government for initiating the "planting for jobs" policy, which is estimated to create about seven hundred and fifty thousand  jobs.

This was after the Minister designate for Food and Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto announced this during the new year school in Accra. 

The paper says it is excited about the initiative.

While, commending the government for the efforts in creating jobs through agriculture, the paper also wishes to remind the government of some obstacles that must be surmounted to ensure the success of the policy.

These include the land tenure system and the unbridled importation of poultry products and rice.

GBC