Former food and agriculture minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto is certain that Ghana can reduce its reliance on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if it gives the agriculture sector greater attention.
Speaking to the media, on March 15, Dr Akoto said the country’s economic fortunes can be improved by the agriculture industry.
“To be permanently out of the hands of these international institutions and bilateral donors we must focus on the agric sector; the literature is clear from which sector developed nations focused their energy,” he said.
“We’ve been mining gold for over 100 years, what has that gotten us. Oil same, we’re still in the hands of the IMF,” Akoto told the host Kwaku Nhyira-Addo.
“We’ve been borrowing heavily on the Eurobond market for the past few years. So, we shouldn’t go on that illusion that mining will take us out. We discovered oil during former president Kufuor’s time, what has that gotten us? Has it gotten us out of the clutches of the IMF?” Akoto asked.