Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has called on Ghanaians to actively support the country’s agricultural value chain by choosing locally produced goods over imported alternatives.

He warned that the continued preference for foreign products is undermining national efforts to boost employment and strengthen the economy.

Speaking at Channel One TV’s  AgriFair at the Efua Sutherland Park in Accra on Saturday June 21, he said Ghanaian farmers and processors are doing their part by producing and adding value to agricultural products, but their efforts are being frustrated by the low patronage from local consumers.

“The biggest challenge that confronts us as a nation is not from the government, it is from the people of Ghana,” he said.

“When you look at the farmers, they have produced. The processors have added value. But the Ghanaian consumers will go to the market and choose foreign products against what is produced here,” he added.

He noted that such consumer behavior fuels job creation in other countries at the expense of Ghana’s own workforce.

“If you do that, your expenditure is creating jobs elsewhere while your own people are suffering,” he stressed.

Mr Opoku emphasized that every cedi spent on Ghanaian-made products contributes to job creation and national development. He urged the public to develop a sense of responsibility and national pride by supporting locally made goods.

“What we must do now is to get our people to understand that every expenditure made on a Ghanaian product goes to increase job opportunities for our own people. So if you want our people to be in gainful employment, let’s patronize what is produced here in Ghana,” he explained.

SOURCE : CITINEWSROOM