The Presidential Candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, announced plans to implement year-round irrigation for cocoa farmers in cocoa-growing areas, as part of his agenda to revive the sector.
During the second day of his tour of the Western North Region, Mr Mahama visited several constituencies, where he expressed concern over what he described as the collapse of the cocoa sector.
In his speech, Mahama emphasised the need for urgent intervention to support cocoa farmers.
“We have realised that eight years after the NPP came into government, they have destroyed all our forest. During the harmattan season in the Western North Region, the impact was severe. Our new arrangement is that, if you have a cocoa farm, we’ll drill a borehole on your farm and provide a storage facility so you can conserve water during the rainy season,” he said.
Mr Mahama further criticised the current administration, accusing it of mismanaging the cocoa sector, which he claimed had led to its decline.
In addition to his plans for cocoa farming, Mahama also took a jab at President Akufo-Addo over a statue erected in his honour, suggesting that such self-glorification was misplaced.
“All they know is to mount statues. You haven’t even left office yet. Normally, you leave office first, so people can assess your good works and reward you with it. But engaging in self-glorification while still in office, is that how it is done?
“If I were to erect statues for the good works I have done, I would put one at Tema Harbour, another at Kotoka Airport Terminal 3, one at the University of Ghana Medical Centre, another at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, and Kejetia Market. My statues would be all over the country. Even the project around the monument you erected hasn’t been completed,” he remarked.