Economist, Dr. Adu Sarkodie has appealed to the incoming government to focus on agriculture and manufacturing to strengthen the economy.
His opinion comes as one of the numerous calls made by some concerned leaders and Ghanaians who believe the agric sector is underutilized.
The economist argued that the move will create employment for the jobless should the agriculture sector be expanded.
According to him, even though the oil and gas industry has a potential to grow the economy, growth in agriculture and manufacturing will rather provide more dirct jobs to the youth.
“So this time round they can perform. I am very optimistic that they will do well. But we also have to shift our focus from oil and gas and place much emphasis on agriculture and manufacturing,” he said.
According to a report by the Ghana Investment Promotion Center(GIPC) indicates that the Agriculture sector did not attract any foreign investment in the third quarter of 2016.
He was of the view that the economy will see a robust turnaround if the agric sector is given the needed attention.
“If we are able to expand these two we can generate more employment and strengthen the pace. The base of Ghana’s economy is agric and manufacturing so if they are able to deepen the base and strengthen the pace, the Ghanaian economy will be robust and any foreign and international prices, be it gold or crude oil may not affect us much,” he suggested.
Some players in Ghana’s agriculture sector have also appealed to government to invest in the sector to help boost output.
This, according to them will help grow the sector to produce at a cheaper cost for export.
Many have stated that Ghana could compete on the intentional market if the agriculture and manufacturing sector receive the necessary intervention to increase output.
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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
