(MP, assembly to embark on agric programme)

Page 15, Aug 11, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, and the Ellembelle District Assembly are collaborating to institute an agricultural development programme that will provide employment for the youth in the area.
Briefing the Daily Graphic after a tour of his constituency, the MP stated that he was in touch with the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to support that development agenda to ensure its success.
"The agricultural sector in my area is capable of wiping out poverty, especially if we support it with the necessary resources and technology,” he said.
According to Mr Buah, agriculture could engage majority of the unemployed youth most of who were uneducated and lacked the skills and the requisite qualifications.
He said communities in the area were engaged in cash crop farming, including cocoa, rubber, coconut and oil palm plantations, adding, “Apart from that, the district farmers are also engaged in food crop production such as cassava and maize.”
The MP, however, stated that some of the youth in that area had not taken agriculture seriously and as such, they had over the years, distanced themselves from its activities.
“The youth in this area think that agriculture is not lucrative, but that perception will change henceforth because we are going to make agriculture attractive to them. We will support them with funds, technology and the moral courage to venture into this area for the sake of the development of Ellembele,” he added.
Outlining some of the crops and the areas to start with, Mr Buah mentioned rice farming, animal husbandry, mass maize production and vegetable cultivation among other crops that he believed the district would consider when the programme began.
Rice production, he stated, would be the first to be tackled before the other crops and animal husbandry were considered, he said.
He said, “You cannot eradicate poverty in an area where there is mass illiteracy, but you can address illiteracy if you tackle poverty. If you do not consider the agricultural sector as an option, you cannot succeed in arresting mass unemployment”.
Mr Buah expressed the hope that with the collaboration of the district assembly, about 2,000 youth in the area would be engaged, adding that “for me, the agricultural sector is the answer, because it is a huge potential area that we must use to create jobs”.