Let’s revisit Nkrumah’s agric vision of self-reliance – Agric expert

 Ghana should honour founding President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, by revitalising the country’s agricultural sector rather than build­ing monuments, the Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Farms, Mr Amos Rutherford Azinu, has said.

According to Mr Azinu, the most fitting tribute to Nkrumah would be fulfilling his vision of agricultural self-reliance by maximising the po­tential of infrastructure projects like the Volta River system.

“The most meaningful way to honour Kwame Nkrumah is not with another statue or renamed street, but with a national commitment to fulfil his agricultural vision,” Mr Azinu said in a statement marking Nkru­mah’s birthday celebration.

The Legacy Farms CEO pointed out that when Nkrumah conceived the Volta River Project in the 1960s, he was laying infrastructure for Ghana’s agricultural transformation, not just generating electricity.

“The creation of Lake Volta was a masterstroke of long-term think­ing that provided the foundation for irrigation, fishing, and rural devel­opment that could have fed and enriched the nation for generations,” he noted.

Despite this infrastructure, Ghana currently imports billions of dollars’ worth of food annually that could be produced domestically.

The country imports rice while irrigation systems remain underuti­lised, imports tomatoes while farmers struggle with post-harvest losses, and imports fish while Lake Volta holds untapped aquaculture potential.

Mr Azinu outlined a four-point strategy for agricultural renaissance: maximising the Volta River’s irriga­tion potential to transform northern regions into the nation’s food bas­ket; investing in rural infrastructure including roads, storage facilities, and processing centres; supporting smallholder farmers with access to credit, technology, and markets; and embracing modern farming technolo­gy including precision agriculture and digital platforms.

The agricultural executive noted that Ghana spends over $2 billion annually on food imports, arguing that redirecting even a portion of this spending toward domestic agricul­tural development would create jobs and reduce foreign exchange pres­sure.

“As climate change threatens food security across Africa, and as global supply chains prove increasingly frag­ile, Nkrumah’s vision of agricultural self-reliance appears more prescient than ever,” Mr Azinu said.

 From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi