
Prof. John Gatsi
An economist, John Gatsi, has suggested that the government should focus more attention on agriculture as a major economic management objective.
Even though he acknowledges the importance of digitisation in the current economic dynamics, he maintains that the importance of agriculture cannot be removed from the equation in reviving Ghana’s economy.
Prof. Gatsi made this suggestion while speaking at the Connect FM Dialogue series in Takoradi on the topic ‘Ghana’s Economy: The Strengths and Threats’.
Ghana’s economy is currently challenged from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian/Ukraine war and other dynamics facing the world economy at large.
Prof. Gatsi, who is also the Dean of the School of Business at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), thinks the way to go is investing in agriculture.
“In our economic management objective, focus on agriculture is one of the things that have been highlighted. So anybody managing the economy should be guided that agriculture takes its position in terms of what we do with production, how we process them into other products,” he said.
“You see, our agriculture zones should attract industries related to processing, etc, but that is not what we see. We spend so much on agriculture imports into the country, and that is not a good thing to do. I know that we are in an era of digitalization and blue economy, etc, but you can’t take away the strength of agriculture from the economy management of Ghana,” he noted.
The dialogue
Regional Manager of Connect FM, Ransford Nana Osei Asare, described the topic for discussion as very timely.
“Looking at the rate at which prices of goods and services are going up, I believe this dialogue is very timely,” he said.
The Connect FM Dialogue Series is a quarterly forum by Connect FM, which brings together stakeholders to discuss pertinent issues and the way forward.