The Tufuhene of Gomoa Ojobi in the Central Region, Nana Kow Entsie IV, has appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to provide tractors at subsidised cost for farmers to purchase and go into large scale farming to feed the nation.
Nana Entsie made the all in an interview with the Ghanaian Times at Gomoa Ojobi at the weekend.
He said with the population of the nation always increasing, there was the need to think outside the box with innovative methods in agricultural sector which was the mainstay of the economy.
Nana Entsie said Ghana was blessed with vast arable land, and with the proper measures in place, the nation would overcome the present high cost of food.
He said the Chiefs at Ojobi were ever ready to give lands out for youth in any part of Ghana who want to go into agriculture to do so at no cost.
Nana Entsie also said that accommodation was very cheap at Ojobi and its surroundings so the youth from other areas would not find any problem with where to stay and farm.
Nana Entsie, a farmer, noted that what they did at Ojobi was that whenever they gave land out to farmers free of charge, the farmers were, however, expected to present a very small portion of the produce to land owners as appreciation for their gesture.
Nana Entsie further noted that, the Ministry of Agriculture should ensure that farmers got seeds at the right time and right quantities to produce more for the nation.
He said the Farmers Day celebration which falls on every first Friday of December was a great motivation established to promote farming.
He said another way to boost agriculture was for the Agric Ministry to build marketing centres in all regions and districts, and to transport food from farms from the hinterlands for sale at cheaper prices.
He noted that “if the agricultural sector was handled properly the high cost of living we are experiencing now would reduce as food vendors would be forced by free market forces to drastically reduce the prices of food.”
FROM BERNARD QUANSON, GOMOA OJOBI
