The leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai, popularly known as Odike has bemoaned the steep decline in cocoa production, Ghana’s major foreign exchange earner.
He says successive governments in recent times lacked vision on how to boost cocoa production locally, which he contended is borne out of a misplaced priority by governments over the period.
He’s argued that the wobbling Ghanaian economy is facing severe challenges because the managers of the economy have made it an import based destination, and consigned local production of major foreign exchange earnings to the background, Odike told Kwaku Owusu Agyei on Si Me So on Kasapa 102.3 FM Tuesday.
According to him, his party formerly United Front Party, which has been morphed into UPP, will seek to create prospects in the production of cocoa on the World market as he’d targeted to boost the production of cocoa to 10 million metric tones at least in his first year, should he be given the nod as the leader of the country come 2016 general election.
“We have to balance our trade and also get surplus. We will ensure that what we can manufacture locally we will concentrate on them and open up the local economy of the nation.
“In our first year, we hope to promote what we have themed ‘Urban cocoa plantation project’ to boost the drive for massive cocoa production.”
Odike hinted that his major target to revive Ghana’s economy would be ensuring an upward review of cocoa production to boost Ghana’s foreign exchange receipts.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana
