IMF: Government must invest more in commercial farming - Samuel Owusu

United Nations (UN) Eminent Peace Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Samuel Bernard Owusu, has urged government to invest more in farming when it secures money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

That, he said, will fetch Ghana more money aside from other avenues the country generates money from.

He recalled that during Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s reign, he initiated state farming where he engaged more farmers at the community level to plant more food.

Although he observed the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ was a good initiative, Ambassador Samuel Owusu was of the belief that if the government supports a lot of farmers to grow grains in all communities, there will be enough food for the people, jobs and as well a boosted economy.

In an interview, Dr Samuel Owusu said, “The Government should invest some of the money from the IMF into commercial production or systems, especially farming.”

He continued, "Dr Kwame Nkrumah introduced state farming, I am appealing to the president to send us back to state farming. Let us do community farming and give ourselves two years. Let us grow maize everywhere, in all the communities, towns, regions in the country. Russia and Ukraine grow wheat such that they supply the whole world with wheat.”

Dr Samuel Owusu said again that, "Planting for food and jobs is a very powerful initiative, let us increase it, the President must focus on that, let us just use maize, grow it everywhere and within a short time, we can supply maize to the whole Africa or even the whole world and we can make a lot of money out of it. We can grow tomatoes and cassava and we will make money from it. The money some countries make from cassava alone is overwhelming, we do not have gold and we are farming too in smaller quantities. Let us do commercial farming. I am asking the President to take us back to state farming, community farming.”

“With this IMF money, we are just going to get some money which might not be enough, the government should invest one million dollars of the IMF money into farming. For the youth that are unemployed, they should be employed to work three to four hours every morning to plant the food and be given allowance and after working in the morning, they can go and do other things. I am not influenced by any political party, but we are all seeking for the welfare of the country.”