The Minority in parliament is accusing government of deliberately stifling the Food and Agriculture sector of the needed budgetary support for its growth.

According to the members, wrong policies and inconsistencies in the management of the sector have resulted in its continuous decline.

The group will this morning address a news conference on the trends of the agric sector in the last ten years.

Minority spokesperson on agriculture, Dr. Afriyie Akoto told Joy News government must accept its incompetence and consult on best practices for the sector.

He said coca production would have increased and improved if not for government’s ineptitude, inconsistency and wrong policies that have been implemented over the years.

“Cocoa production for the 2014/2015 year has been one of the lowest in 10 years, Ivory Coast is producing 1.7 million metric tonnes of cocoa, Ghana is doing less than 700,000 metric tonnes although the both countries have almost the same acreage under cultivation.

“That should tell you the extent to which productivity in Ghanaian agriculture has sunk and not only that, it is the same for rice, maize and the all basic staples in this country”.

Despite this, government has done nothing in term budgetary allocation for the sector, he indicated.

Dr Akoto said the 1.1 percent allocated to the sector in the 2015 budget is woeful and “does not tell the full story”.

The news conference expected to take place at Goaso in the Brong Ahafo Region forms part of the minority’s agenda to expose the countryside to government’s failure in the sector.

Dr. Afriyie Akoto says the development in the agric sector if not checked will result in job losses soon.