Senyo Hosi, a former chief executive officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, has requested the resignation of the Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, as well as the Chief Director of the Ministry.
Mr. Hosi, who has assets in the rice industry, criticized the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in a statement for its handling of data and lack of consultation.
“Respectfully, the arm-chair analysis the Minister and/or MOFA (Ministry of Food and Agriculture) does with a culture of ‘knowing everything’, without adequate consultations and collaborations with industry, will take this country nowhere.”
“Your conduct and management of this matter is suboptimal and, respectfully, proves your unfitness to lead in the policy space for this sector,” Mr. Hosi said.
“I respectfully call on the Minister and his Chief Director to resign with immediate effect to save this industry from total collapse,” he added in the statement.
Mr. Hosi added that he did not regard the minister as a trustworthy partner in policy.
When the Ministry commented on his presentation at the 3Business Agribusiness debate, he was responding.
According to Mr. Hosi, the topic of his contribution was the failure of policy to structure the agricultural sector in a way that would make it bankable and appealing to investors over the long term.
He said that several of the agricultural investors present at the discussion supported his experience by stating that “it is true.”
He pointed out, for instance, that the ministry did not have access to reliable data from farmers.
“MOFA has at no time assessed our production levels, despite the challenges we face. And same can be said for many other players in the rice sector. The culture of collecting installed mechanical capacity of mills cannot be a proxy for actual production.”
“I find it most unfortunate that despite being led by a PhD Agric-economist, the analytical capacity of the MOFA is one of mediocrity.”
These calls are being made in the midst of Ghana’s economic crisis, which is being characterized by sharp increases in the price of agricultural produce.
Adam Ibrahim
Adam is passionate about politics and issues that affect governance. As a writer, he channels his energies into writing on pertinent national and political issues for the good of the Ghanaian people.
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