A Director of Finance and Administration at the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana, Naliban Wujangi, has called on the government to be proactive towards the agricultural sector.

Speaking on Joy Business Social, a weekly podcast show, he said the agriculture sector has been touted as one with lots of potential to transform Ghana’s economic fortunes, yet much hasn’t been done to harness this potential.

He expressed worry that the funding support for the growth of the sector is not often received by farmers and players in the agribusiness chain. 

He further mentioned that such funds are mostly received by political party cronies and people associated with groups of influence.

This he said does not often produce the intended results and hence affects the growth of the sector.

“Also, you’ll realize that whenever there’s a responsibility for funding or grant, there’s always a mismatch because people who really need it are the ones who seldom get it. Those who have connections are the ones who rather get it. As a result of that, we have square pegs in round holes.”

He went on to appeal to the government and those in authority to put in practical measures to avert future crisis.

“Production of food is not a child’s play. It’s actually a national security issue and as a result of that I urge all government agencies who are within the space to get a lot more proactive with what they are doing”, he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Aquaculture Chamber of Ghana, Jacob Adzikah, called for collaborations between various agri-based associations to help advocate for policies needed to improve the sector and concentrate on championing the cause of farmers.

“The various associations must learn to collaborate and work together in the various industries. Until we achieve that, it will be difficult to engage the government. We have many associations who appear to be competing which is not the right to go”, he stated.

Speaking on the same programme, the Executive Director of Count on Crops Hub and host of the Ghanaian Farmer on Joy Prime, Enyonam Manye, admonished government to implement policies which will ease business processes in the agric sector. 

She also added that the government will have to adopt policies that will promote the creation of a value added chain.

This she believes will add value to the produce grown in Ghana and hence achieve lots of value in exports.

Joy Business Social is a podcast show aired on Joy FM, Joy Business and Joy News’ social media platforms every Thursday at 6pm to discuss pertinent issues in the business ecosystem and proffer solutions to the challenges facing the country.