Agric. Sector can be ‘Saved’ by Public-private-Partnerships – Dr. Sam Ugoh

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BlackGold Group, Dr Sam Oscar Ugoh, has advised the government of Ghana to partner with the private sector in dealing with the numerous problems facing agriculture in Ghana.

According to him, the “long-standing issues coupled with newer realities” in the agricultural sector requires the collective efforts of both parties to solve.

“The public-private partnership (PPP) model could be just the game-changer. By drawing on the power of all agricultural stakeholders, PPPs can transform the sector at multiple levels.”

Speaking at the 35th edition of the National Farmers Day held at Odumase in the Dodowa district, Dr Sam argued that, a unified force between the government and private sector will help deal with “the [main] problem in agriculture” – the processing value chain.

According to him, the government can finance the back-end of the value chain as the other problems are being tackled by the private sector.

“With the government providing and co-financing the back-end of the value chain, and the private sector and farmer contributions doing the rest, the agricultural sector could remain a primary engine of rural growth and poverty reduction”.

He added that “an important role of the government, besides funding, will be to create an enabling environment for private investment. This needs to be done through tax rationalizations, duty exemptions, increases in public spending, priority sector lending and FDI. It is steps such as these that will boost private sector investment in supply chain infrastructure and services”.

Dr Ugoh also asserted that, the partnership will help introduce “cutting-edge” technologies and approaches to the agricultural sector. This according to him will transform the industry by raising production levels and outputs.

“PPP projects are the way to go for Ghana’s agricultural sector. They will be an important step in renewing and rejuvenating rural economies and leading them to inclusive and sustainable growth.”

Source: ghananewsonline.com.gh