Prof. Kwame Agyei Frimpong, an associate professor of soil fertility at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has voiced grave worries regarding the dearth of funding for the agricultural industry.
He urged Ghanaians to make investments in the agricultural sector and bemoaned the massive sums of money that are poured on musical events and beauty pageants, which only benefit a select few.
Speaking to attendees at “The Swedru Conversations” with the theme “Feeding Ourselves as a Nation,” Prof. Agyei Frimpong lamented the dearth of assistance for the agriculture sector and demanded significant funding for those involved in the value chain.
The Swedru Senior High School Alumni Association arranged the yearly thought leadership program, which was held on Monday, February 12, 2024, at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.
“We need to rebrand agriculture, we need to view agriculture as a business as a sustainable and profitable profession. We should look at agriculture from the value chain perspective. In Ghana, we have a season of glut and seasons of scarcity. We need to develop infrastructure for distribution and storage. Some people have the money, imagine if this event was a beauty pageant, a musical concert, or some sports event, you cannot imagine what the attendance would have been.”
He stressed, “Even if people were supposed to pay through their noses, they would do it. But because it’s agriculture, see how many of us are here. That is how we treat our agricultural industry. But I dare say that those of us who decided to do agriculture even up to this point cannot hold our own very much against our contemporaries.”
Professor Agyei Frimpong urged young people to pursue careers in agriculture, claiming that the industry offers more job prospects than other fields.
In addition, he asked the government to prioritize agriculture training above STEM education.
