The Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, Paul Apraku Twum Barimah has indicated that the youth in Ghana must be given the needed support to thrive in their various fields of endeavor.
According to him, The Ghanaian youth are hardworking and not lazy as perceived and with the needed support they would be actively contributing to the socio economic development of the country.
Speaking in an interview after the state of the Nation Address by the President of Ghana, NANA Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Paul Twum Barimah touted the achievement of the government of Akufo Addo in youth development and sports and commended the government for the achievement. He expressed the hope that government officials who have been assigned the responsibility to implement the policies and programs would consider the needs of the youth and support them.
Presenting the state of the nation address, President Akufo Addo indicated that in 2023 “, one hundred and fifty (150) young Ghanaians were trained and
certified as mechanical maintenance technicians, electrical technicians,
instrumentation technicians and production process technicians up to the
industry standards. Additionally, five young Ghanaians underwent a ten-month welding inspector training programme at the North Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada.”
“They have since been placed in various technical institutions in Ghana as instructors. Ghanaians will soon fill the well-paid positions on our oil fields, because we have the trained and qualified personnel. Things are looking up.
“Mr. Speaker, the surest way of making agriculture attractive to young people is to take the drudgery out of farming, and Government is continuing to make agricultural machinery and equipment easily available. Under the third and final tranche of the Brazilian More Food Programme, tractors with accompanying implements, power tillers with accessories,
maize shellers, units of combine harvesters, and rice millers have been distributed to farmers, processors and mechanization service providers on hire purchase arrangement. This year, under the Indian Exim Facility, tractors with matching implements, planters, boom sprayers, combine harvesters and corn pickers will also be made available.
“Mr. Speaker, having determined that large scale commercial farming is the easiest way to achieve our set goal of food self-sufficiency, Government, under the second phase of the PFJ, will establish Agricultural Zones as a complementary initiative to address the issue of access to large tracts of agriculture land, to drive sustainable and commercially oriented
agriculture.”
“This will significantly expand Ghana’s productive capacity in products such as rice, soybean, maize and tomato. Indeed, between 2021 and 2023, rice imports fell by some forty-five percent (45%). In 2021, rice imports amounted to eight hundred and five thousand metric tonnes (805,000MT); in 2022, six hundred and fifty thousand metric tonnes (650,000MT); and, in 2023, four hundred and forty thousand metric tonnes (440,000MT). This healthy trajectory will continue until we achieve full self-sufficiency in rice production.”
“For each Agricultural Zone, Government will partner with the private sector to provide the necessary irrigation infrastructure, develop access
Roads, extend power (solar/hydro) and provide mechanization services. Various locations across the country with potential to be food baskets have been identified for the establishment of the Agricultural Zones. They include Afram Plains, Tsopoli, Kumawu, Krachi and Nkoranza, amongst others.”
Honourable Twum Barimah indicated that these programes among others will help improve and transform the youth in business.
