THE introduction of new varieties of staples such as rice, maize and cassava by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to address the issue of food security in our country is heart-warming.
The new scientific breakthrough will help improve food security and increase the yields and incomes of our farmers.
It is our belief that if we move away from rudimentary ways of farming to more scientific and less laborious farming systems, more of our youth will be enticed into the Youth-in-Agriculture policy.
However, it is not just enough to come out with new varieties; it will be more beneficial if there are clearly established linkages between scientific and research institutions and industry, such that research findings will be used to improve the well-being of the people.
Very often, the CSIR comes out with varieties of food crops as its contribution to the promotion of food security in the country but the outcome of its activities has hardly impacted on food security.
The independence of any country can only be said to be meaningful when people are able to feed themselves and support others who are incapable of doing so to put meals on their tables.
It can be demeaning to always go, cup in hand, begging for food or relying on others to provide for our needs.
The country has, over the years, been faced with the high import of staples such as rice, maize and plantain from neighbouring countries, although we have the capacity to produce to feed ourselves.
All over the country, from north to south, east to west, we are blessed with arable land which can be put to better use if the unproductive land tenure is reviewed.
Our people are wallowing in poverty and lack certain basic necessities of life such as food in the midst of abundant resources because policy interventions are ineffective to drive the changes desired for our forward march.
The Daily Graphic thinks it is about time the unproductive land tenure system was reviewed in order to make land available for investors, especially the youth who are interested in pursuing endeavours in agriculture.
We are happy that interest rates are gradually coming down, but they are still unattractive to the agricultural sector because the risk factors involved in food production are quite high.
It can only be by some magic that any entrepreneur in the agricultural sector can borrow at about 30 per cent interest to put into food production to make any gain and still remain in business.
It is for this reason that the Daily Graphic calls on the government to make a special case for the agricultural sector so that banks can lend at about 10 per cent interest to those who are willing to return to the land.
The government can do this only when it is able to raise some funds which it can channel to the banks for on-lending to the agricultural sector.
Unless the government is able to make interventions for the agricultural sector, such as competitive interest rates, the availability of land and inputs, mere exhortations to the people, especially the youth, to return to the land cannot achieve the desired results.
Successes were achieved under the “Operation Feed Yourself” programme in the 1970s because that policy appealed to the emotions and passion of the people to make a swift break from the country’s dependence on food hand-outs to feed themselves.
Our agriculture can grow if we take a cue from the “OFY” introduced by the Acheampong regime that helped to inspire the youth, including students, to lend a hand on the land.
The Daily Graphic commends the CSIR for its continued support for the agricultural sector but we urge more action on the establishment of linkages between research and industry, such that the initiative of the CSIR will impact more positively on food security.
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