[ 2016-11-04 ]

Robert Crentsil [Middle] in white flanked by president John Mahama and others.

Robert Crentsil is 2016 Best Farmer
Robert Crentsil, 42, from Ejumako Enyan Essiem in
the Central Region, has been adjudged the 2016
National Best Farmer.

He has several plantations comprising cocoa (12
acres), rubber (80 acres), plantain (60 acres),
Cowpea (60 acres), Cassava (30 acres), Oil Palm (7
acres), Coconut (6 acres), Citrus (15 acres).

The husband and father-of-three will be given a
fully-furnished three-bedroom house to be built in
a place of his preference among others.

Addressing farmers at the event held in Kintampo,
President John Mahama refuted claims by the main
opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that
agriculture has been declining under his
administration.

“The impression created in the media is false.
Let me state for a fact that the agriculture
sector is not in decline. A sector that is growing
at 2.5 per cent cannot be said to be in decline.
The statistics can be crosschecked at statistical
service. The fact that agric’s contribution to
the GDP is not what it used to be in the past,
does not mean that it is declining, it simply
means that other sectors of the economy are also
doing well; which is good for the economy and
normal for every developing and developed
country,” he stressed.

He made these comments in his address at the 32nd
Farmers’ Day celebration in the Brong Ahafo
Region.

This year’s celebration, which is being held
under the theme: ‘Agriculture: A Business
Response to Economic Growth’ was scheduled for
Friday, 4 November, due to electioneering
activities as the country prepares for polls on
December 7.

Mr Mahama’s comments come just a day after Dr
Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minority spokesperson on
agriculture had said there was a sharp decline in
agricultural growth from 7.4 per cent in 2008 and
7.2 percent in 2009 to 5.3 percent in 2010 and 0.8
percent in 2011.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on
Thursday, 3 November, the Kwadaso legislator said
the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) share in
the difficulty which farmers and fishermen in
Ghana have to contend with under the Mahama
administration.

Reviewing the performance of the agriculture
sector, Dr Afriyie Akoto said: “By the measure
of annual growth performance, Ghana’s
agriculture has been sluggish from 7.4 per cent in
the year 2008 and 7.2 per cent in 2009.
Agricultural growth slowed to 5.3 per cent in 2010
hitting 0.8 per cent in 2011. It then stayed down
at 2.2 per cent in 2012 recovering somewhat to 5.7
per cent in 2013 and then 4.6 per cent in
2014”.

According to him, “The growth registered in the
two years of 2013 and 2014 was in large part on
account of unprecedented growth in forestry and
logging activities. If logging activities are
dramatically increasing without commensurating
growth in reforestation, the obvious implication
is that we are further degrading our forest cover
and opening the country up for the invasion of
savannah and Saharan condition.”

“The crop sector which engages most of the 4.5
million farmers in this country, recorded growth
of only 3.6 per cent in 2014. The 2015 budget
statement expected a 5.8 per cent growth. In the
event, the recorded growth was not even half of
it, it was only 2.4 per cent in 2015. … Over the
last six years, since 2010, we have an average
growth of 3.5 per cent per year. It is not even
half of the Malleable Declaration of minimum
target of 6 per cent per annum for all African
countries. This declaration, Ghana is a major
signatory to. And it is saying that the target for
agricultural growth must be a minimum of 6 per
cent and Ghana as I’ve demonstrated to you has
done only 3.5 per cent.

“With a population growth rate of 2.7 per cent
per annum, Ghanaian agriculture is growing at a
net rate of only 0.8 per cent per annum. It
accounts for the rapid urbanisation typified by
the Kayayei phenomenon …so you see that the
sector is not performing at all”.

Source - classfmonline.com

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