Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), during his visit to the Tongu Central Constituency, has expressed a firm commitment to making agriculture the focal point of his administration, should he assume the presidency.
His vision encompasses a holistic strategy aimed at tackling both the immediate and long-term challenges that farmers in Ghana encounter. In his address, Dr. Bawumia presented a comprehensive plan that includes advancements in irrigation, technology, mechanization, and processing.
This roadmap is intended to boost productivity, modernize agricultural methods, and foster sustainable economic opportunities for farming communities throughout the nation.
He underscored the importance of irrigation and cutting-edge technology as essential components for revitalizing the agricultural sector. Dr. Bawumia asserted that these factors will play a pivotal role in transforming farming practices and enabling Ghanaian farmers to succeed in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
Agriculture will be my biggest priority as President to help the farmers. We are going to bring irrigation. We are going to bring technology.
He highlighted the importance of contemporary solutions in tackling the issues of climate change, erratic rainfall, and low agricultural productivity.
His administration intends to implement irrigation systems in agricultural regions nationwide, guaranteeing that farmers have year-round access to water resources, which will prolong the farming season and enhance crop production.
He mentioned that his administration aims to replicate the achievements of the “drip program,” which supplied equipment for road construction, but this initiative will focus on agricultural mechanization.
In every farming district, Central Tongo and every district in Ghana, what we have done for the roads with the drip program to give equipment for the construction of the road, we are going to bring agricultural equipment to every district for the farmers of this country.
This mechanization approach, as stated by Dr. Bawumia, aims to ease the demands of manual labor, minimize post-harvest losses, and ultimately enhance efficiency and profitability for farmers.
Every district will have a District Agricultural Mechanization Center where we have tractors, we have combined harvesters, we have planters, all farming equipment that is available so that the farmers when they need it, can get it to do their farming.
One of the fundamental elements of Dr. Bawumia’s agricultural policy is his emphasis on value addition. He understands that the agricultural process extends beyond the mere act of harvesting, highlighting that processing plays a vital role in achieving agricultural success. In particular, he has pinpointed cassava as a crop with significant opportunities for value-added processing.
After we farm, you will need to process your goods. And I’ve been talking with Godwin, and we are going to establish a cassava processing factory for you to process your cassava when you farm your produce.
This initiative holds significant importance as it tackles a persistent issue within Ghana’s agricultural sector—the lack of local processing capabilities for raw agricultural products, which results in losses and reduced profits for farmers.
The creation of these factories will enable cassava farmers to transform their harvests into value-added products, such as starch and flour, which possess greater market value and extended shelf life.
That is not going to be a problem here. We’ve looked at all that it will take, and it will not be a difficulty for us to give you a cassava processing factory.
