Agriculture is our main focus – GCPP

Dr Henry Herbert Malm Lartey, flag bearer of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), has said the surest way of transforming Ghana is in the improvement of the agricultural sector through the concept of domestication.

Describing the country as agrarian, he said it would take a “green revolution to transform Ghana by the implementation of domestication-growing what we eat and eating what we grow- “, a policy which he said, is still the best for Ghana and Africa.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said, farmers must be provided with the necessary support in terms of capital and equipment to improve productivity in agriculture.

“Farmers can also become exporters of their produce when given the facilities- with global gap or organic certification to gain access to the global market to sell their products,” he said.

Dr Lartey said instead of relying on only dams to irrigate farms, Ghanaian farmers can also direct their attention to spring irrigation, as being done in some parts of the Volta Region, where some farmers have connected motors to boreholes to irrigate their farms.

He stated that their manifesto contains two major focus areas: agriculture and energy; sectors such as the creative arts and tourism are also highlighted.

He said when given the mandate, he would focus more on solar energy and related development, including the establishment of a solar university to train and equip people with skills and knowledge requisite for exploring solar inventions such as solar panels, cars, lights among others.

He cited examples of developed western countries such as Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom who are utilizing the solar system massively in major industrial setups.

Regarding education, the GCPP head said there is a need to create a system where the teacher-student ratio is reduced to enable students to better “assimilate what they are taught and to become very creative thinkers and innovators”.

He said the party is currently focused on door-to-door campaign to drum home their ideas and strategies for improving the livelihoods of the people.

Dr Lartey urged Ghanaians to consider a candidate who has already achieved what he promising and not those who do not have a clue on how to execute their plans.

He said as one of the largest agricultural producers in Ghana, producing and exporting the best organic pawpaw to several countries in Europe, he is already helping some farmers in the Eastern Region with capital and equipment.