By King Amoah
The recent decision by Burkina Faso’s military president Ibrahim Traoré to lift the ban on tomato exports to Ghana should not be mistaken for a simple act of goodwill.
Instead it serves as as a timely wake up call for the Ghanaian administration to fundamentally reevaluate and revitalize the nation’s own agricultural sector.
This sentiment is strongly voiced out by Mr. Osafo Mumuni a retired Agricultural Officer based in Kumasi.
Mumuni who is currently a cocoa farmer who was expressing deep regret and frustration believes that the Ghanaian government should view this development not as a cause for celebration but as a stark indictment of its agricultural policies and priorities.
The actions of President Traoré speak volumes about the state of our own governance, Mumuni asserted.
He stressed that the it is a humbling moment for Ghana that another nation, even one facing its own challenges has to step in to provide a staple that we have the capacity to produce ourselves.
The retired agriculturalist highlighted Ghana’s inherent strengths in agriculture.
He said we are blessed with rich and fertile arable lands and available workforce.
We possess the potential to produce tomatoes and a plethora of other food products in abundance enough to not only meet our domestic needs but also to export.
Yet due to alleged mismanagement and what can only be described as laziness, our lands lie underutilized while we rely on imports from desertlaand like the conditions in Burkina Faso.
Mumuni questioned the rationale behind Ghana’s preference for imported food items.
ln his view it is a senseless paradox and questioned why do we refuse to utilize our own lands for our own benefit instead opting for import especially food product from foreign countries.
This dependency, he observed drains our state coffers and undermines our economic self sufficiency.
He directly addressed President John Dramani Mahama and his appointees.
He questioned about their reactions to the eased import restrictions.
If President Mahama and his appointees were genuinely happy to hear that the ban on tomato imports has been lifted were they able to muster courage to demand an apology and compensation from the Burkina Faso military president?
Mumunni indicated that many Ghanaians have suffered and even lost their lives at the borders while attempting to buy tomatoes from Burkina Faso.
This is not a small matter; it speaks to how our nation is perceived and how little we value the safety and economic well being of our citizens.
According to Mumuni it is time where our leaders should wake up in one accord and prioritize the welfare of the citizenry since without the citizens they cannot be appointed leaders.
Whilst calling on the leaders to do the needful he also advised the citizens to adopt interest in agriculture and stop blaming the government as the sole element who is responsible for everything for the people.
If we collectively contribute to the success of the our agriculture sector the we would not only provide jobs for the people but also to have the opportunity to feed ourselves and export surplus of our farm yields to attract funds for the state, Mumunni indicated concluded.
