The sector Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Hon. Mike Hammah has stated that the government led by Prof. John Evans Atta Mills since taken over office had introduced a number of interventions in agricultural sector to serve as a catalyst for Ghana’s economic shared growth and development agenda.
“This strategy which is premised on boosting the nation’s agriculture sector will help unlock the potentials of rural economies that will create sustainable and accelerated growth and development and reduce poverty among Ghanaians”, Minister said.
The minister who was addressing Ghanaian students in the United Kingdom at a meeting held in the University of Coventry-UK said that Ghana’s economic stability for the past three years was because of these interventions or strategies introduced by the government.
The conference which was under the theme “Change agents in the National Development, Challenges and Prospects” was organized by the Ghana High Commission in UK in collaboration with the Ghana Students Union ( UK) brought Ghanaian students based in that country together to deliberate on how to support the development of the country.
A press statement signed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Mr. Charles Wereko and issued in Accra and copied to the Enquirer stated that the government was commitment to the broad base development that would ensure that the benefits of the economic growth currently being experienced under the Mills administration trickled down to ordinary Ghanaians.
The statement quoted the minister as saying that the government was focusing on developing agricultural sector under her Ghana’s Shared Growth and Development Agenda because the majority of Ghanaians are engaged in agriculture. “The aim is to improve the income of these people whose livelihoods depended on small scale farming to better their living standards”, the statement said.
The Conference, according to the statement provided the minister a platform to update the students on the emerging economic opportunities in Ghana. The minister was also said to have used the opportunity to explain to the students about national and security development that was encouraging economic growth and attracting foreign investments particularly in the oil and gas industry.
The minister is said to have emphasized that the booming national economy was because of the institutionalization of result-oriented policies and programmes introduced by President Mills which has culminated in an unprecedented economic growth rate of 16.4% in the last quarter.
The minister told the students that the emerging Oil and Gas industry and a key driver of the recent economic upturn, would also be given the needed attention it deserves to accelerate not only the economy, but also improve the institutional and human capacity, that would ensure that majority of Ghanaians were engaged in that sector.
The Sector Minister therefore charged the students and Ghanaian professionals living in the disapora to return home to take advantage of these opportunities and support the national development agenda.
The High Commissioner Danso-Boafo commended foreign trained Ghanaian graduates for their contributions to development and re-shaping of the political landscape of the country that helped to deepens Ghana’s democracy, and rule of law.
He however called on the government to place the development of the youth at the centre of its development agenda. He also encouraged students to develop an aptitude for innovation and creativity to improve quality of life that would inculcate strong sense of self-reliance, patriotism, nationalism and volunteerism in them.
The president of Ghanaian Students Union in UK, Mr. Evans Gyasi, however called on the youth to come out with innovative and creative ideas to support the development of Ghana.
Dr David Pillsbury, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Coventry said that the institute has over 200 Ghanaian as students and that the institute treasures its partnership with Ghana in the area of human resource development. He hoped the partnership between Ghana and the UK would be sustained for the benefit of both countries.
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