THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN AFRICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT USING GHANA AS A CASE STUDY

In December 2017, i was invited by IAAS-POLAND at Warsaw University of Life Sciences to give an open lecture on the topic "THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN AFRICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT".

As far the contributions of Agriculture towards the development of a country can never be exhausted, i did my possible best to outline some of the roles.I spoke about the contributions of Agriculture towards the growth of Ghana's GDP in the past where i reiterated that In 2003 – 2007, the GDP growth rate increased from 4.4 to 5.8%, while that of the agricultural growth rate increased from 4.2 to 5.2% (The State of the Ghanaian Economy in 2007). "

Moreover, I threw emphasis on the role Agricultural policies play on this subject. I outlined some of the objectives of the agricultural policies as follows;
• Food security and emergency preparedness
• Improved growth in incomes
• Increased competitiveness and enhanced integration into domestic and international markets
• Sustainable management of land and environment
• Science and Technology Applied in food and agriculture development
• Improved Institutional Coordination"

To add to, i highlighted some of the opportunities Agriculture offer in building Africa's economy even though there are several challenges holding Africa's Agriculture back which would be addressed later. Among the opportunities includes; "abundant uncultivated arable land, a young and growing labor force which projects to be the world’s largest by 2050; tropical and subtropical climates which permits long and multiple growing seasons, expanding national and intraregional markets for agricultural products etc"
https://www.facebook.com/IAASPoland/photos/a.919074058104310.1073741837.201690026509387/1788591891152518/?type=3&theater
The audience appreciated my work and later offered me a certificate of honour
http://iaaspoland.pl/2018/01/03/special-guest-from-ghana/