By Ivan Amponsah & Celestine Avi
”During the six years of my service in the Akufo-Addo government, we laid the foundation, both in terms of programmes, legislation, and intellectual capacity to build an Agricultural sector, to provide the finances both foreign and local, for our industrial development, education, health, infrastructure, including motorways, farm trucks and all that is required to build a good country”.
These words by former Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto were to NPP delegates whose mandate he is seeking to be voted for in the party’s presidential primaries.
Education:
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto graduated from the University of Ghana with a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Science. He obtained his M.Sc. and PhD degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Cambridge, in England. He worked as an Economist, Senior Economist, Principal Economist, and Chief Economic Advisor over a period of 18 years at the International Coffee Organization (ICO) in London, England. He also worked as a Consultant to the World Bank and the United Nations on Soft Commodities (Cocoa, Coffee, Sugar). Between 1995 and 2007, he was the CEO of two international commodity companies, Goldcrest Commodities Limited and Plantation Resources Limited both based in Ghana.
Politics and Governance:
In 2007 he was appointed the Chairman of the NPP Manifesto Committee and was the principal author of the Party’s Manifesto for the 2008 elections. He was subsequently elected as a member of parliament in 2008. He spent two terms as Member of Parliament for Kwadaso Constituency in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. In Parliament, he held the positions of Deputy Ranking Member and subsequently the substantive Ranking Member for the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs until 2017.
In 2017 President Akufo-Addo appointed him Minister for Food and Agriculture. Dr. Akoto, spearheaded the design and implementation of the Government’s transformational agricultural flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ).
Under his leadership an Act of Parliament established the Tree Crop Development Authority in 2020, to coordinate and promote the development of six tree crops – cashew, rubber, oil palm, coconut, mango and shea. At full development, these selected crops have the combined potential of generating an additional 12 billion dollars per annum to supplement the annual 2 billion dollars from cocoa. It was during his tenure that the National Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme was relaunched through which a total farm area of 56,343 hectares was fully treated across the cocoa growing regions as of 30th September 2022. Dr. Afriyie Akoto, is putting himself forward to the delegates of the NPP to lead them into the 2024 general election.
He is prioritising industrial agriculture to transform the economy.
Dr. Akoto spearheaded the Tree Crop Development Authority and believes by maximising these crops Ghana can rake in the much needed revenue.
Dr. Afriyie Akoto is confident that by prioritizing issues of agriculture for policy making he has what it takes to lead the party. If he gets the nod to do so, agriculture in the country will receive significant attention to be the main source of revenue.