Representatives of the Chinese and Brazilian governments in the country have challenged government to enhance growth in the agriculture sector in order to make development issues more meaningful to the larger population.
The Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Irene Gala, and the Chief of Staff the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, Ji Haojun, commented at the maiden edition of the Ghana Economic Forum in Accra that there is need to encourage both local and foreign participation in agriculture by resolving the bottlenecks in land acquisition.
�My observation about Ghana is that there is so much land lying idle. At the same time, many people are rushing to the cities and going abroad and the country is importing many food-stuffs; and that is very strange.
�If you cannot feed yourself, there is nothing like development to talk about. There is need to improve on agriculture,� said Mr. Haojun.
The Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Irene Gala, added that while there is need to encourage foreign investments in agriculture in the country, small-holder farmers must at the same time be supported in order for the country to be self-sufficient in food production.
Drawing experiences from her home country, Mrs. Gala said: �The challenge for Brazil for the next couple of years is to provide 40 percent of the world�s agricultural needs. But 98 percent of what Brazil eats comes from small-holder farmers.�
Currently, growth in the agriculture sector which employs more than half of the country�s population has been impeded by the land tenure system and over-concentration on the services sector.
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