Parliament’s Appointments Committee’s Vetting of Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku on January 20, 2025

Chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, MP, Akatsi South: Honourable members, the clerk should take her position and administer the oath.

Eric Opoku takes the oath: I Eric Opoku, swear by the almighty God that the evidence I shall give before this committee touching the matter in issue shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So, help me God.

Chairman: Thank you very much. Honourable members, in line with Standing Order 217(2), we have in our midst Honourable Bryan Acheampong, Honourable Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku. They are the subject matter committee leadership. We have Honourable Dr. Jasaw Godfred and Honourable Kwame Gakpe as the leadership from the majority side, agric. Honourable members, I proceed to take a question from Honourable Dr. Bryan.

Dr. Bryan, MP, Abetifi: Thank you very much. Honourable Chairman nominee. Let me congratulate you for the nomination.Indeed, Honourable Chairman, the constitution is clear on Article 78. Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament. Except that the majority of the nominee, should come from Parliament.

The nominee is a fifth term member of Parliament and therefore qualifies. Mr. chairman he is also being the ranking member for food and agriculture and cocoa affairs. So, he’s very much knowledgeable.The nominee by virtue of being a fifth term member of Parliament by the constitution qualifies for the position that he’s been nominated for.

But honourable nominee, notwithstanding your knowledge of agriculture, the NDC Manifesto,the preamble of it, says and I quote, the agriculture is confronted with low productivity, low production, low productivity, food losses, limited markets, and poor access to credit.

Now, notwithstanding the challenges enumerated in the manifesto, you are going to lead, if you are approved by Parliament, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. As a leader, how do you intend to deal with the challenges so enumerated in the NDC Manifesto? Thank you.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity. And let me say good evening to my colleagues on the committee. Indeed, life is in a flux, and the dynamism of nature dictates that while some are going, some are coming. And where some are meeting, others are also parting. I recall not long ago, I was on this committee when the incoming ranking member who just posed a question to me sat where I’m sitting today.

And I posed to him some innocuous questions, which he answered excellently. Today, it is my turn, and I want to assure him that I will deal with all the questions he intends to ask. On the issue of how to deal with the problems we have identified in our manifesto, if you had red further, the manifesto provides all the mechanisms we intend to put in place to address the challenges. We want to roll out a programme called Feed Ghana.

Under the Feed Ghana programme, we want to drive this nation towards food sufficiency. And then we have also provided for another programme called Feed the Industry. Under the Feed the Industry programme, we want to establish a strong relationship between agriculture and industry, a symbiotic relationship in nature, so that as agriculture provides the raw materials, industry will be adding value. And in so doing, we generate a lot of jobs, increase productivity.

I think one issue that I have to address has to do with lack of credit that you mentioned. Honourable colleague, you are aware, Mr. Chairman, you are aware that in 1965, the first president of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, established what we now call the Agricultural Development Bank to provide credit facilities for the development and modernisation of agriculture.

Unfortunately, over the years, because our agriculture is rain-fed, the banks are unwilling to discharge this special mandate. And that is why our farmers are suffering from lack of credit. The NDC intends to roll out a programme called Ghana Agriculture Insurance Scheme, GAIS.

Under this programme, we want to subsidise agricultural insurance so that farmers can have insurance on their farms. Once you have the insurance, the banks are ready to advance loans to you, knowing very well that whatever amount they give you, so long as it falls within the limits of the insurance, it can be paid. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Bryan: Mr. Chairman, a follow-up. Honourable nominee, maybe the way I asked a few years ago was this question provided for very general answers. Because everything that I’ve seen in the NDC manifesto was in the Rawlings manifesto, was in the Kuffuor manifesto.

I’m talking about agriculture feeding industry, access to credit, insurance, and all those things. From the Rawlings era, it was in their manifesto, President Kuffuor’s manifesto, Mills-Mahama manifesto, Akufo-Addo manifesto. I see it in the Mahama manifesto.So, it becomes a theory.

And the problems persist every four years. But I was looking for more of how you intend, notwithstanding the manifesto, to deal with maybe one or two of it, to provide assurance to the Ghanaian people, that you are going to give a different type of leadership to address the situation. But I understand. It’s a broad sector.

Maybe I should have asked you the insurance or the production to industry, how do you intend to operationalise it? Maybe we would have gotten some more clarity on the matter. So, my follow-up question to you is, Honourable Nominee, on the issue of food losses in your lens, how do you intend to deal with it in your lens?

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, it is indeed a serious problem confronting agriculture in this country, and we will want to introduce something new to reduce food losses in this country. We’ve been talking about agribusiness, agribusiness. What we are saying is that we are going to encourage the private sector to put in place many, many plants close to the farms, so that as soon as we harvest, they will buy the produce, process them.

If it is cassava, for instance, you grind the cassava, put it in the rubber, you seal it, and then they sell to the big, big companies. If we are able to put these many processing plants around the country, we will reduce food losses significantly in our country.

Dr. Bryan: Mr. Chairman, my second question.Mr. Chairman, during the campaign, the honourable nominee mentioned that we had cheated cocoa farmers on the price of cocoa… and that the price that we are offering, 3,100, was very low, that they will do better. He did not give us a price.

Now, the finance minister nominee, on the platform, mentioned that we should be paying cocoa farmers 6,000 Ghana cedis, yet we paid 3,100 Ghana cedis, and that we are insensitive to the plight of cocoa farmers. Mr. Chairman, after the elections, I was tempted and guided by those comments to increase the price of cocoa to 6,000 cedis, as recommended by Honourable Ato Forson and my senior on the platform, but I felt that it wasn’t right to do so.

I want to ask the nominee, when confirmed this month, can he assure cocoa farmers that by February, or by Valentine’s Day, he will increase the price of cocoa to 6,000 Ghana cedis, so that cocoa farmers who are producing the chocolate for Valentine’s Day can get a benefit of it? Thank you.

Eric Opoku: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it is a fact that I, Eric Opoku, made that constructive proposal to the government of Ghana, under the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to consider giving Ghanaian cocoa farmers a minimum of 6,000 Ghana cedis for the 2024-2025 cocoa season.

Mr. Chairman, in determining the producer price of cocoa, you look at the FOB price, or the world market price, then you look at the exchange rate. For purposes of clarity, I want to walk you through how we determined the producer price of cocoa in 2016, and then do the comparison, then conclude on the matter for everybody to understand.

Afenyo-Markin: Chairman

Chairman: Honourable leader, with all due respect, let’s allow the nominee to finish answering the question, and then the questioner will have the opportunity to ask a follow-up, if there is a follow-up.Then I can come to your follow-up question. That’s the ground rules that we have set. So, nominee, have you finished your answer? Very well, finish your answer.

Afenyo-Markin: Chairman, Chairman, with respect, if you would grant me leave. Chairman, we have granted some dispensation, please bear with me. He’s a colleague I respect so much, and he knows. Honourable nominee, respectfully, in your very emphatic answer, did I get you right in your answer to the effect that you made a proposal? You made a proposal?

Eric Opoku: Yes, please.

Afenyo-Markin: That’s it.

Chairman: Very well, proceed with your answer.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, I made a proposal because I did not have the power at the time to do so myself, and the only thing I could do was to put a proposal forward for government to consider. Now, back to the answer. In 2016, the FOB price was $2,950 per tonne. The exchange rate was $1 to GH¢3.90.

And so, when you multiply 3.90 to the $2,950, the cedi equivalent of the per tonne value was 11,505 Ghana cedis. When you divide this by 16, you get the per bag value of 719 Ghana cedis. And so, in 2016, every bag of cocoa sold from Ghana in the world market attracted 719 Ghana cedis.

Out of this, the Mahama administration gave the Ghanaian cocoa farmer 475 Ghana cedis, which constituted 66.06% and kept 244 Ghana cedis, which was just around 34%. Mr. Chairman, the 244 Ghana cedis the government kept, part of it was used to procure fertiliser free of charge to the cocoa farmers. Part of it was used to procure chemicals for the cocoa farmers.

Chairman: Order, order. Please, let’s listen to the nominee in silence. Order.Let’s listen to the nominee in silence. Please, please, proceed with your answer.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, I’m taking a cue from the sentiments of the appointment committee. And so, I will be laconic and lucid, but the point must be stated. Now, what is the point? In 2016, the farmer was given 66%. And so, every one of us knows that the principle of cocoa board has been that the cocoa farmer must be given 70% of the price.

Now, in 2024, 2025, every one of us, is a common knowledge that the world market price is spiking up on the back of global cocoa shortage. And so, when you go to the world market, at the time they announced the price, the average price was $10,711. And the exchange rate at the time was $1 to $15.5. But I was charitable to even use $1 to $15.

So, when you multiply, per every tonne of cocoa, Ghana was earning the city equivalent of $160,665. You divide this by 16 to arrive at the payback value of 10,042 Ghana cities. Out of this, I said, if we are getting 10,042, how much of this can the government of Ghana give to the Ghanaian cocoa farmer? I calculated 70% of it, and it was above $7,000.

But being mindful of the fact that this government has plunged the cocoa sector into the abyss of debt, I was charitable to use 60%. The 60% was the $6,000 that we put out as a proposal for consideration. But government decided to give the Ghanaian cocoa farmers $3,000 initially. That $3,000 constituted 30%.

Chairman: Thank you very much. Any follow-up?

Dr. Bryan: Yes.Honourable, I belong to a football club in Legon, and we say one thing when we meet each other ‘ye hwe’ (we are watching). My question is simple. Will you, based on the promises you made and the challenge you threw at the NPP government, and now that you are admitting that you are actually looking at the world market price, when you know that in 2024 the world market price will be used for prices in 2025, but you are in 2024 using the spot market price to calculate, I take it.

But I’m asking you, now that the cocoa price has moved from 10,000 to 11,000, it means that when you take office in the first week, you will be able to increase the cocoa price from your committed 6,000 now to about 7,000, which will represent 70% of the world market price. That is a simple question. The world market price of cocoa has moved from the 10,700 to 11,000.So, all you are showing Cocoa Farmers is that when you take over, it will not actually be 6,000, but it will be more than 6,000 that you will announce to Cocoa Farmers.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, I thought that my colleague would listen to the Honourable Minority Leader. I’ve been praying for God to help me resist the temptation to create, to do something that the leader doesn’t want me to do.

Afenyo-Markin: Mr. Chairman, I have had an extensive discussion with Honourable Sampson Ahi. Honourable Sampson Ahi, I’ve had some good discussion that there are matters of governance, matters of systems and policies, not NDC, not NPP. And there are matters for the Ghanaian public, and the market is likely to respond.

So, we decided to hold back our lunch to take you. The whole day, we’ve not had lunch. We’ve not had a break to take any.So, Chairman, in Okonkwo, is it Okonkwo who said in Things Fall Apart that, Okonkwo, yes, your smile must be brief. So, your submissions must be brief.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, it is, no, he has asked a question. I must respond. I haven’t answered the question. No, I haven’t answered the question. I haven’t answered the question.

Afenyo-Markin: Obia nim se wo aben. Mese twa so, twa so. Ah, yekaasem a tia. Twa so. (Everyone knows you’re an expert. I said it is okay. When we say something listen. It’s okay).

Chairman: So, probably, we may have to reduce the questions to Eric Opoku. Now, it’s, it’s, it’s now the turn of Honourable Dr. Jasaw.

Godfred Seidu Jasaw, MP, Wa East: Thank you very much, Honourable Chair.Honourable Nominee, welcome and congratulations. I must say that in the last four years I’ve worked with the Honourable Nominee as his Deputy Ranking and it’s been wonderful working with him. He’s a great leader.I wish you well.

Honourable Nominee, still on the cocoa sub-sector, there is this apprehension because the production of cocoa beans has reduced and that in the last year, we made only 400, indeed under 450,000 metric tonnes against an expected 850,000 metric tonnes upon which we took the, the…

Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku: Chairman, Chairman, cocoa production for last year was not 430. It was 530, if you care. Source, Ghana Cocoa Board.

Dr. Jasaw: Okay. So, Mr. Chair, I flatly disagree with him, but for, for progress of this conversation assuming that the 530,000 metric tonnes is anything to go by.It’s not a statement of fact.

Afenyo-Markin: No, it’s a notorious fact.Don’t, Honourable Eric Opoku knows, please. Don’t let us say it was 400. Stop it.When we are dealing with verifiable facts, it’s not 400.

Dr. Jasaw: Leader, leader, let’s make progress. And I’m saying, Honourable Chair… Chairman: Honourable Dr. Jasaw.Hold it. I believe there are some errors in the question asked, as you indicated that, to quote you, w’aben. So, he’s capable of answering the question and doing the corrections alongside. So, proceed with your question.

Dr. Jasaw: Thank you, Honourable Chair. You have nothing to worry about. Let’s assume that the production for last year is 530,000 metric tonnes. Cocoa Board engages in forward sales of cocoa beans. At present, the reports from Cocoa Board inform us that there is a deficit of paying cocoa beans of about 350,000 metric tonnes to the buyers outside the country. If you are confirmed as Minister responsible for agriculture, what steps do you think we can take to pay that debt before we start talking about cocoa beans for processing into chocolate for Valentine? Thank you.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Regarding the figures, I will say that both of them are right. Before the transition, the Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and Cocoa Affairs met with Ghana Cocoa Board at Koforidua. And they indicated to the committee that their total production for last year was 429,000 tonnes.

That is why I’m saying that Honourable Dr. Jasaw referring to that figure is right. Now, when you come to my colleague Opoku, just recently during the transition engagements, Cocoa Board submitted some documents to us. I was privileged to be part of the transition engagements. In that document, they indicated that their production was 530,000. And so, in this case, both of you, you are right.

But whatever be the case, be it 430,000 or 530,000, production has declined. And this is the lowest in the last two decades. Then on the issue of the default, yes, Ghana went to the syndicated market and then took a loan of $800 million to purchase 850,000 tonnes of cocoa. At the end of the season, we were unable to produce the 850,000 tonnes.

So, we defaulted on the loan. And then they decided to roll over that delivery to this year. The quantity is 374,000 tonnes. This is the figure they gave us during the transition. And so now that we have assumed office, we have to look at how we can deal with this debt and many other debts at the sector before we can make progress.

And so, what we are trying to do is to first and foremost take the office, go through the books, ascertain for ourselves whether the information we are getting is actually what is on the ground. Because we are picking some information that suggests that even the figures we have are far, far, far below the real figures.

So, until we get the real figures, we are unable to make a determination as to how to contain them. And then as soon as the chief executive is appointed and the cocoa board is put in place, the Ghanaian people will be made to know exactly what we have inherited. So, I will crave your indulgence to exercise patience. When the chief executive comes and the board is in place, the question will be properly answered.

Chairman: Any further questions?

Dr. Jasaw: Mr. Chair, I trust in the capacity and capability of the nominee and so I will leave the rest of my questions for now. Thank you for the opportunity.

Chairman: Thank you very much. It is now the turn of Honourable Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku.

Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku, MP, Offinso South: Thank you very much, Chairman.Chairman, let me also add my voice in congratulating my good friend and my namesake for his nomination. Chairman, the nominee is on record to have said that cocoa board management wasted $3.4 billion as administrative expenditure.

And indeed, this has been captured in the NDC manifesto that the NDC government will prioritise investments in cocoa production over wasteful administrative expenditure to improve the livelihood of cocoa farmers. Chairman, I have the audit report and it has given the breakdown of the administrative expenditure.

Chairman, with your kind permission, I would read. We have auditors’ remuneration, depreciation, amortisation of intangible assets, directors’ remuneration, staff costs, legal and professional expenses, rent and rates, bank charges, bond expenses, maintenance stroke utility costs, head office and division operations.

Included in the administrative expenses is an amount of GH¢942,982,000. Incurred on productivity enhancement programme. Chairman, my question is, which of these expenditures do you consider as wasteful and which one will you abandon when you are given the approval?

Eric Opoku: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, my argument was clear.I was speaking on the floor of the House and I did indicate that I find it extremely difficult appreciating why at a time when cocoa production is declining, office expenditure is ballooning.

And I referred to the Auditor General’s report that in 2021 Ghana produced 1,047,000 tonnes of cocoa and office expenditure was 1.7 billion Ghana cedis. In the following year, cocoa production declined from 1,047,000 tonnes to 655,000 tonnes.But office expenditure, according to the Auditor General’s report, increased to 2.6 billion.

The following year, cocoa production declined to 530,000. Office expenditure again increased to 3.4 billion. So if you establish this inverse relationship between office expenditure and cocoa production, every rational being will question whether you are being physically prudent or there is some kind of physical laxity in the administration. And so, I don’t know how my colleague, who is knowledgeable in the sector, can defend this indefensible situation.

Isaac Opoku: Chairman, the MPP administration established the Tree Crop Development Authority by act of Parliament.In the NDC manifesto, you intend to initiate the Tree Crop Development Programme. And you have listed eight crops, some of which are not in the Tree Crop Development Authority. I want to find out from the Honourable Nominee whether you intend to scrap the Tree Crop Development Authority.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, there is a difference between the authority as an institution and programmes. In our manifesto, we are talking about programmes. But I must say that we are all aware that government is a continuum. It continues, it doesn’t end. And so whatever programmes, projects, that are ongoing under the NPP government, the erstwhile NPP government, the incoming administration will make decisions and incisions, tailor it to fit into our agenda, and execute it to perfection.

Isaac Opoku: Chairman, my last question. In your manifesto, under the caption Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda, AETA, you indicate that the NDC government will create farm banks within the agricultural zone to ease access to land and irrigation facilities. Nominee, considering the intricate nature of our land tenure system, how feasible do you see this arrangement? In other words, do you intend to nationalise these farm banks?

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, that policy intends to address the very challenge that he mentioned. Normally, people encounter a lot of difficulties assessing land for agricultural purposes. We want to make agriculture attractive to the youth and everybody in this country. So, we will want to acquire the land, prepare the land for agricultural purposes, then hand over the land to prospective investors so we can increase production and drive our nation towards full sufficiency. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Isaac Opoku: Chairman, I’m not clear. The lands are in the hands of the chiefs.Chairman, as you know, the lands are in the hands of individuals and farmers. And you know the complex nature of our land tenure system. So how are you going to acquire those lands? Because it is possible that you will not get any continuous land to be considered as your farm banks.So that is my concern. How are you going to be able to acquire continuous lands? Your approach?

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, what we will do is first and foremost to identify the owners of the land. If the land belongs to the chiefs, we go to the chiefs. If it belongs to families and the family head is Honourable Bryan Acheampong, we go to him, discuss with him, acquire the land and then put it, prepare it for the agricultural use. Simple. We will acquire the land. Land acquisition is done by government, by any other person.

Chairman: Now is the turn of Honourable Dzudzorli Gakpey.

Kwame DzudzorliGakpey, MP, Keta: Thank you, Chairman.Mr. nominee, you are welcome and then congratulations to you. I know my ranking is very competent, very diligent and then I have worked with you for the four years. I have no doubt about your capability. At this juncture, I have no question for you, just to congratulate you. Thank you very much.

Chairman: Thank you very much. It’s now the turn of Umar. You have no question? Very well, very well. Honourable Rita, no question.You have one question. Please go ahead and ask.

Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, MP, La Dadekotopon: Thank you, Honourable Chair. And I wish to congratulate the nominee on his nomination by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. I have no doubts in my mind, working with you as a friend on the committee, that you can deliver to us.

But one area I would really want you to critically look at is the gardening in the homes and then the schools. Yes, so that’s one area I believe. When we were growing up, we used to have gardens at home and we planted pepper, tomatoes, onions and it really helped us. And so, I would wish that you take critical care of that. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations again.

Chairman: Thank you very much. It’s now the turn of Honourable Patrick Yaw Boamah. He indicated he has a question.

Patrick Yaw Boamah, MP, Okaikoi Central: Thank you very much, chairman. That’s my good friend, Eric.Congratulations. The gentleman from Sankore. Eric, I know you are passionate about how to get the youth into agriculture and also agri-extension services.I know you answer my question with those two issues that I’ve raised.

My question is from your Manifesto, the NDC’s Manifesto, 2024, page 78 of 200, at paragraphs 3.11, sub 1 and 5. Your manifesto made a very bold promise of rehabilitating a lot of dams. I saw the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam there.I saw it. And it’s in your manifesto.I’ve given you the page.

You listed a lot, Accra Plains and what have you. How much will it cost you to undertake this rehabilitation programme? And I believe you’ve done your numbers and you’ll be able to tell Ghanaians how much it’s going to cost your ministry.I know the House will approve of you. We know what you are made of.

But I want to know how much it will cost you to rehabilitate all the dams listed under paragraph 3.15 of the party’s manifesto, the NDC.And I wish you the very best, Eric. Thank you.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, the question posed by my colleague is in threefold.The first one has to do with youth in agriculture. The second one, agri-extension services. And the last one is on irrigation. And so, I will tackle them one after the other. Youth in agriculture. Mr. Chairman, I read a report issued in 2021 by Haifa International.

Haifa International is an international organisation based in the United States. They are determined to bring an end to hunger and poverty while protecting the earth. They indicate that in Ghana, only 5% of our youth is engaged in agriculture.This is unacceptable.

It means that agriculture is not attractive at all to the Ghanaian youth. And therefore, something must be done immediately to make agriculture attractive to the Ghanaian people.What can we do? First, we have to ensure that we create huge markets for agricultural products to give confidence to farmers that when they produce, there will be markets for their produce.

And that is why in our manifesto, we have emphasised on agri-business, the marriage between agriculture and industry. Industry will serve as the huge market to buy from agriculture.Industry, again, because of the 24-hour economy policy, will have to employ a lot of people, including the children, the grandchildren, the siblings, and the … of these farmers.

And so all these people who were hitherto dependent on the farmers are now very, very important in modernising agriculture because the extension officers serve as an intermediary between research and the farmers. They are the facilitators and the communicators.

They help the farmers to make their decisions. They help the farmers to accept and adopt modern techniques of farming. Without them, agriculture cannot develop.

Unfortunately, in Ghana, the agricultural extension officer to farmer ratio is around one extension officer to 1,500 farmers. Mr. Chairman, reading the handing over notes, because of the priority that we have given to agriculture, as you rightly mentioned, in our manifesto, we have indicated that agriculture is going to be the engine, the pivot, the fulcrum around which all the economic activities will revolve.

And therefore, we’ll make sure more of these people are recruited to push the agenda forward.On the issue of irrigation, you are asking about the cost of the rehabilitating when we were putting ourmanifesto together. And it will be inappropriate for me to put that figure out, as that is not the figure, we are going to use to put up the manifesto.

So, Honourable Boamah, you have been here for a long time, you know the procedures. As soon as the budget is presented and this issue is provided, the cost will be indicated in there for us to debate.It is premature for you to raise this issue here.

Chairman: Thank you very much. Very well, I will now give the floor to Honourable Chief Whip.

Frank Annoh-Dompreh, MP, Nsawam-Adoagyiri: Mr. Chairman, this is a follow-up.

Chairman: Well, you can ask your follow-up question, and thereafter, follow-up with your substantive question, because it is your turn.

Annoh-Dompreh: Okay. So, Honourable Nominee, let me commend you. I have no doubt that you will be able to live up to the billing.You have shown demonstrable confidence, so I have confidence in you, and I want to commend you highly. However, you made a comment on the pharma extension officer ratio.

I know that it has been a challenge for a while, even before the NPP took over.I know when it comes to these things, you are more patriotic, and I want to see that sense of patriotism in you this evening. Now, it was difficult. We came in, and Dr. Akoto Owusu-Afriyie’s time it improved a bit. It improved significantly.

Then, compared to yours, yours was so, so bad.So, if it is a question of farmers to extension ratio, you don’t really have the moral right to come and be describing how bad the situation was. How bad the situation was. So, we did well.Dr. Akoto did very well. Would you agree with me on that?

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, I recall vividly that this issue has been debated upon on the floor. We were told by the Honourable Akoto on the floor of the House that the government was recruiting 1,200 extension officers. But the following year, when they brought the budget, and I checked the staff ceilings, I realised that they had recruited only 217.

And when we asked them, they said the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was responsible for the recruitment of the rest. I followed up to check on their staff ceilings, and they were completely missing.And so, Leader, sometimes, apart from what we hear on the floor, we have to go beyond that to ascertain whether the paper information is in consonance with the reality.

Annoh-Dompreh: Okay, that’s fine. Maybe we’ll have another day for this debate.Yes, we’ll have another day for this debate. Today, he’s not ready. So, Honourable Nominee and a friend, you have been eloquent on agribusiness, and I hear you use that expression a lot.Are you able to elucidate and also contextualise the current situation we find ourselves in as a country? What do you mean by agribusiness? In what context?

Eric Opoku: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, agriculture is simply the growing of plants and the raising of animals. But agribusiness focusses on profiting from agriculture using technology. And so, in the current situation, agribusiness is anchored on production, processing, transportation, and distribution. And so, we have a situation where there is no link between agriculture and industry.

We in the NDC believe that the only way to make agriculture attractive to the youth, the only way to make agriculture a profitable, lucrative venture for people to invest in, is to marry the two, so that when you produce, value is added to it, you increase your export, you reduce your import, you restore stability to the exchange rate, and then create a conducive atmosphere, conducive and congenial business environment for businesses to thrive, throwing out millions of jobs to absorb the teeming youth of our nation.

Annoh-Dompreh: Mr. Chair, the nominee knows that changing the mindset of our teeming farmers to switch from the normal subsistence and cutlass and hoe has been a challenge for a very long time. It is easy to say that, well, it’s a challenge and therefore we are going to encourage our youth to go into it. What will be the narrative? What are you going to do? You have four years. What are you going to do to change this thinking? It is not easy as you are saying it. I have done some consultancy for Mida.

And you go to typical areas where our farmers are. It is about, subsistence farming is about what they want to eat. They farm what they are going to eat.So, farm, excuse me to say, to the mouth. Exports only is considered when we are looking at free zone companies. And foreigners come and flood this space and take over.I just wish that four years from now, we can have evidence to say that indeed we have changed the mindset and the thinking of our farmers and our youth.

I don’t know how you are going to do this. It is not going to be an easy task.Many, many a time we find these things, we state them in our manifestos. This is not the first time your manifesto is talking about agribusiness. It is not the first time.So, look into the microphone and tell the teeming Ghanaian youth what you are going to do.

I have confidence in you, but it is not going to be easy. What are you going to do to translate these matters practically? How differently are you going to approach this?

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, first and foremost, we are going to launch a programme akin to a champon’s operation feed yourself. Under that programme, every Ghanaian, every household would be encouraged to own a home garden. At least we should take advantage of the rich soil to produce the basic, basic vegetables that we need in our homes.

We are also going to encourage institutional farming. Under this, every secondary school in this country will be made to own a farm. We are going to liaise with my brother, Honourable Haruna, has given the Minister for Education the nod to recruit labourers for the secondary schools to help them prepare school farms. Mr. Chairman, if we are able to do this, if for nothing at all, we can reduce the cost of school feeding.

We can also improve both the qualitative and the quantitative aspect of the food that is served to our students. Then again, we are also going to encourage the churches and the Muslim entities. Already, some of them are into farming.We can talk about the SaviourChurch; they are into serious farming. We can talk about the Pentecost Church, the Christo Asafo Church, and many others.

I cannot mention all of them.And Seventh-day Adventists and all of them. We want to encourage all of them to also invest in farming. Mr. Chairman, nature has blessed us with land that is capable of giving us the food that we can eat and even export.And so, we have to take advantage of that.

Annoh-Dompreh: Honourable Eric, do I have your attention?

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, you have my attention. Except that I suspect some kind of a breach of contract here. Because just before when I entered, you told me that, oh, my brother asked for you, I won’t ask you any questions. Because you are capable.But you are bombarding me with a lot of questions.

Annoh-Dompreh: Mr. Chairman, my friend knows that we both know each other. And I’m doing this because of the people of this country.Just between the two of us, I could have decided not to ask you. But our Ghanaians are listening to you. And they need to hear some good words from you.

Eric, let me test your knowledge on this. Smart agriculture, sustainability, climate change. You know, these are current words that I use. The current narrative in terms of sustainability, green agriculture, and all that.How are you able to situate this in our situation? And this may be my last question. Thank you.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, all the issues or the terminologies you have raised or broached here point to one particular term. How to sustain the environment. To make agriculture sustainable as well. How to implement policies that are environmentally friendly. But to properly respond to the question.

I just, as part of my preparation towards this vetting, I read from an Indian agronomist and humanitarian, M.S. Swaminathan, who has been described by the United Nations as the father of economic ecology. And he said, he said this.When agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have the chance to go right. When the agricultural policies go wrong, food inflation will be rising.

Food import bill will be rising.Unemployment rate will be rising. Because you are importing more and you are generating exchange rate vulnerabilities that will have the tendency to converse the entire businessenvironment, leading to business collapse and unemployment rising. And so, the policies we have crafted in our manifesto are technically achievable, economically sustainable and socially acceptable.Thank you.

Annoh-Dompreh: Chairman, let me thank the nominee. I want to thank you for responding to my questions and also to tell you that we are going to follow you with an eagle eye. All the beautiful things you’ve said. Get prepared. Get prepared that we are not going to take them lightly at all.

Chairman: They are saying you should rather follow with a tiger eye. Honourable Deputy Minority Leader, do you have a comment?

Patricia Appiagyei, MP, Asokwa: Thank you very much. Honourable nominee. Congratulations. Yes. I know that you have a number of beautiful programmes that you want to roll out there. But I have a responsibility. Because we were in the chamber when we passed our Affirmative Action Bill into law.

And you know very well that in pursuing these programmes, we have to take into consideration the women and some marginalised groups. And these people always face barriers to land ownership and access to credit. How will you tackle these systemic issues to create a more inclusive agricultural sector as you have proposed? Thank you.

Eric Opoku: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, according to a report issued by the World Bank in 2021, in Ghana, 44.1% of women are employed in agriculture. My view is that it is a good thing.The only problem is that they are confronted with challenges like their male counterparts.

But I think the issue relating to credit has already been addressed. I did mention that we will establish Ghana Agricultural Insurance Scheme, under which we will subsidise agriculture insurance to de-risk agricultural lending and allow the banks to offer credit to our farmers.

And so, the women in agriculture will take advantage of this opportunity to access credit to expand their farming activities. And then you also raised the issue of land acquisition. I think that has also been dealt with when we talk about the land banks and the fact that we want to prepare the lands, allocate to the farmers, deploy the extension officers, and make sure they deliver.

Annoh-Dompreh: Mr. Chairman, just a quick follow-up. On agri-insurance, I know countries like India, Kenya, Zambia, and a few others in Africa are doing it.I don’t know if you have reverted your minds to the need for actuarial scientists to do some good work on this. It’s a good thing to do, but if you want to bring it to our country, you have to check on all these variables.

Even the Insurance Act may have to come under an amendment.Maybe you have to think about it well, because if you are going to say it, I am going to take you on, because I’ll be filing questions very soon. So, get your actuarial scientists to be doing the calculations and be sure. It’s something you want to do.Yes, I don’t know if you have done that.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, it is a policy captured in our manifesto. So, all that we have to do to make it implementable has been done.

Appiagyei: Honourable nominee, I realise that you have been concentrating so much on crops and you have not spoken much on poultry and other aspects of it. And then I also want to know something about how you are dealing with disabilities.I have mentioned vulnerable groups, but disabilities must be a key area that you also have to deal with. Thank you.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, on the poultry sector, I think it is important I speak to it.Because the poultry farmers out there want to hear something from me. Reading the 2024 budget. Specifically, paragraph 402. We are told that in 2022, Ghana’s total consumption of pottery was estimated at 324,000 metric tonnes.

Out of this, only 15,000 tonnes, constituting 4.6%, was produced in Ghana.And so, the bulk of the poultry product that is consumed in Ghana is imported. This clearly indicates that the poultry sector is in comatose and needs resuscitation.

Mr. Chairman, to revamp, to revamp the poultry sector, we have provided for a programme in our manifesto called Poultry Farm to the Table Programme. And at this programme, we want to work with the Poultry Farmers Association, provide them with financial resources to enable them to expand their businesses, increase production to cross the huge gap between demand and supply.

Then, another aspect that we have to work on is the pottery feed. We are going to focus zero in on production of poultry feed to make it more affordable to bring down food prices in Ghana.

Mr. Chairman, reading the Ghana Statistical Service report, they indicate that food inflation which came to 23 percent has increased to 27.8 percent on the back of rising prices of eggs, which clearly means that we have to push a lot of resources into that sector to revamp it.And it is against this background that President Mahama, on his campaign trail, which became famous in this country

Afenyo-Markin: Honourable nominee, this appears to be a presidential manifesto thing. It is as if you are adoring yourself, preparing to take over from JM. This is not supposed to be the approach.I have already spoken to you we have not taken a break since morning.

Eric Opoku: Mr. Chairman, I agree perfectly with you, but I think that we will do a great disservice to the people of Ghana if I don’t seize this opportunity to explain to them the nkoko nketenkete programme. So, I wanted to use this opportunity to explain the nkokonketenketeprogramme as part of the measures we will roll out to revamp the poultry sector.

Mr. Chairman, let me indicate here that the nkokonketenketeprogramme is not a new programme we are introducing in this country. It is an ongoing programme. We will just improve upon it.

When you read the 2020 budget presented to this House, specifically paragraph 273, the NPP indicated that they were going to distribute nkokonketenkete, nkonfemnketenkete, nponkyinketenkete, ndwannketenkete, but what we are saying is that we are not only going to distribute that, we are going to add cages and also deploy more veterinary services to make the programme more effective to enable us to actualise our agenda.

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