Wife of the presidential hopeful of the Progressive People’s Party, Mrs. Yvonne Nduom, has advocated the need for mechanised agricultural system where modern farming implements would be used instead of primitive and traditional ways of farming.
Speaking in an interview with Joy FM in Accra yesterday on a wide range of issues including her husband’s bid for the presidency, the economy, education, and health among others, she elucidated on PPP and its plans for agriculture when voted into power.
Palm nut, according to her, is a fruit that “needs minimum effort, yet yields maximum benefit.”
However, she noted, Ghanaian farmers were not encouraged to go into the planting of these fruits which are beneficial.
“You know with the palm fruit, we can get two oils, we get the red oil and the white oil, then the fibre and kennels are used for energy. There isn’t even one part of the fruit that is thrown away,” she said.
She attributed the source of Malaysia’s wealth and other countries like Singapore and Argentina to the production and processing of palm fruits.
Mrs. Nduom further lamented the fact that so much money was spent on the importation of rice from other countries whereas money could be raised for farmers.
She went on to add that the use of irrigation in farming and other modern forms of farming should be introduced.
She asked: “why don’t we have cocoa processing plants? why not add value to the cocoa after all Switzerland does not produce cocoa, cultivate cocoa yet they make the best chocolates, why is it that we don’t process it and make them buy the value added cocoa from us and give them the raw materials just like that.”
“The climate in Burkina Faso is harsher compared to what we have in Ghana, yet we buy tomatoes and onions from them,” Mrs. Nduom averred.
She expressed the need for parliamentarians to make laws and ensure that farmers get more money from what they produce because “they really work hard and it’s not easy being a farmer.”
She reaffirmed her support for her husband’s candidature who she claimed was the best candidate that Ghanaians should entrust the destiny of the country into.
She also bemoaned the Ghanaian Constitution where too much power is vested in the executive.
That, according to her, allows the executive to control every government institution.
“The head of every government institution is appointed by the President as against elected officers that pertain in other democracies which is a flaw in the constitution.”
In this regard, Mrs. Nduom stressed the need to reduce the powers of the executive to create room for accountability and reduce corruption.
She was confident that when given the mandate her husband will work with a sense of urgency to make Ghana a prosperous country.
Touching on the issue of her not becoming the next first lady, she replied: “I actually don’t want to dwell on this First Lady [thing] because I must tell you that seriously it’s not my aspiration,” she told the host of the programme.
“My husband believes and I support him that he has a lot to offer Ghana because where we are is not where we should be and that we can have accelerated development. So of course, I’m solidly behind him,” Mrs. Nduom said.
According to her, it’s her husband’s firm belief that women should be given their rightful positions in governance; that children of school-going age should be in the classrooms; that diseases such as malaria and cholera should not be the cause of deaths in the 21st century and that Ghana must maximise the potential of agriculture.”
“That’s what he wants to do and I’m solidly behind him. If Ghanaians were to vote for my husband then I’ll give him all the necessary support that he needs. I will support all of these things if Ghanaians were to vote for him,” Mrs Nduom affirmed.
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