Former President John Dramani Mahama
The Former President HE John Dramani Mahama has proposed yet another strategic plan to reduce if not eliminate the rising youth unemployment rate by providing sustainable jobs to the people of Ghana through his 24-hour economy policy.
According to the Annual Household and Expenditure Survey (AHIES), under the Harmonising and Improving Statistics in West Africa Project, funded by the World Bank, revealed that the unemployment rate rose from 13.4 percent to 13.9 percent (1.8 million people) in the second quarter of the year.
This policy announcement received positive feedback from the Trades Union Congress and other well-meaning Ghanaians including Hon Allan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, a former trades and industry minister and presidential Candidate for movement for change, stressing that, the 24-hour economy is the way to go.
One of the focus areas to be targeted in this 24-hour economy is 24-hour agro-processing which is going to focus on value addition to agriculture produce in the country. This significant policy proposal comes with strengthening existing agro-processing factories by giving them financial support and establishing new ones that will operate under the scheme.
New factories as have already been promised by HE John Dramani Mahama during his Building The Ghana tour would be established in raw material-specific areas, for instance a Tomato factory at Dwomo in Tano South, a Cashew Processing Factory in Wenchi, a Poultry Processing Plant in the Dormaa Enclave, to process cashew, tomatoes, poultry birds into finished products respectively for local consumption and export.
The NDC 2024 Flagbearer has also promised the establishment of a Cashew Marketing Board to deal with price fluctuation to motivate cashew farmers to produce more cashews. This undoubtedly, would improve revenue mobilization and potentially contribute to economic stability as imports would be reduced and as well as provide sustainable, and well-paying jobs.
These factories would require huge volumes of raw materials that can support a three-shift production in line with the 24-hour economy policy. The Ghanaian farmer on his part is expected to significantly increase their production to be able to feed these companies.
Since there would be a bigger market to take up these produce, there would be competitive prices of goods farmers produce and also eliminate post-harvest losses.
It is expected that farmers would form cooperatives to be able to access government stimulus packages to increase production. The government would reintroduce free fertilizers to farmers, provide extension services, and revamp mass spraying to cashews, Cocoa, coffee, mangoes, and other cash crops.
Poultry farmers and live stick farmers will receive on the hand veterinary services to be able to provide healthy livestock and birds to feed the factories to be able to run and produce more to feed the Ghanaian populace and export the rest.
The farmer is expected to potentially see increased income from their farm gate and even employ more hands to work on their farms and earn a decent living. Farmers, Support the implementation of the 24-hour economy policy by HE John Dramani Mahama, which could contribute to positive changes in the agricultural sector.