Cassava is more important to Ghana than gold – Ken Agyapong

Kennedy Agyapong, a presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), claims that one of Ghana’s growth difficulties is the lack of priority given to agriculture.

He said that the nation has misplaced all of its hopes in royalties from the exploitation of mineral resources like gold and has overlooked the role that agriculture can play in the nation’s transformation.

On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, while he was submitting his nomination for the NPP flagbearer race, Agyapong stated that if Ghana concentrated solely on the production and processing of cassava, the nation would be transformed quickly.

“Unfortunately, we think of gold as the pinnacle, but I disagree. Cassava, in my opinion, is more significant than gold. Gold is a luxury, cassava is a necessity. Palm is a necessity and gold is a luxury, just like sugarcane and gold.

“When I went to the Thai Ministry of Agriculture, they had 32 distinct goods made only from cassava, ranging from biscuits to starch to ethanol. What are we doing in this country if we utilize corn for ethanol and corn oil? said he.

The majority of Ghana’s manufacturing companies are owned by foreigners who import raw materials from their home countries for manufacture, lamented Ken, the member of parliament for Assin Central.

We [are] in Ghana, Malaysia purchased the Unilever Company, and we import palm oil from Malaysia to make Frytol oil and soap. Why are we flawed as people? He probed.

The presidential candidate continued by saying that Ghana’s food costs could only remain steady if it ended its reliance on imports and started producing at least all of its essentials domestically.

Source: Mynewsghana.com