By Bright Ntramah
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has challenged the youth to venture into and play meaningful roles in commercial farming. Government, he said, will facilitate the availability of suitable and well-prepared land fitted with farm roads, power supply, irrigated water, farming equipment, and warehousing, among others.
President Akufo-Addo threw the challenge at the Jubilee House when he inaugurated the Board of the Millennium Development Authority. The governing board has Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu as its Chairperson.
Following the completion of the Ghana Power Pact and the expiration of the office of the Millennium Development Authority, MiDA, in October last year, the Minister of Finance selected MiDA to take over the implementation phase of the Ghana Care Obaatampa project and coordinate all the activities related to the economic enclave component.
This is in recognition of MiDA’s track record in project management and its capacity to handle the related accountability.
As the Coordinating entity for the economic enclave project, MiDA is expected to adopt and follow the same systematic approach to project management that characterised the implementation of Ghana’s compact project.
President Akufo-Addo encouraged the youth to join in and play a meaningful role in commercial farming. He said the NEIP and NSS will facilitate the recruitment of youth to participate in the project.
He was emphatic that the novel economic enclave project is different from the previous state farm concept.
The Chairperson of MiDA, Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, was confident the Project would be successful.
Others on the board are Chief Executive Officer, Martin Eson-Benjamin; Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong; Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Att; and Minister of Trade and Industry, K.T. Hammond.
The rest are the Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development, Dan Botwe; Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Hajia Abudu Lariba Zuweira; Executive Director, National Service Secretariat, Osei Assibey Antwi; representative of AGI, Dr. Kwasi Humphery Ayim-Darke; and representative of the Private Enterprises Foundation, Mark Badu-Aboagye.
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