While officially stating his intentions to contest for the Flagbearership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the former Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, also admitted that the Akufo-Addo-led government could have handled some socio-economic decisions differently.

He squarely praised the President for laying a strong foundation for development, but emphasized that, when he becomes the president, his government will lead the country with a five-year “Ghana transformational plan.”

The plan, according to the aspiring presidential candidate, is hinged on providing a strong macroeconomic environment, a new agricultural revolution (NAR) for the country, industrial transformation, digital mainstreaming, energy security and diversification, de-carbonization and climate resilience.

Mr. Alan Kyerematen made this known while in a meeting last Friday, with some executives of the New Patriotic Party in Koforidua, as part of a one-day Eastern Regional tour, to seek their support, going into the party’s internal flagbearership election.

Touching on agriculture, he said, optimizing Value to Farmers by establishing Farmer-owned Large Scale Commercial Farms and Processing Facilities will bring the full benefits of the agriculture value chain to farmers.

He said his government will intensify the use of technology in the country’s agricultural sector, through Research & Development (R&D) in Agronomy, Mechanisation, Irrigation, and Plantation Management.

According to the aspiring flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, his government will build on the foundation laid by the Planting for Food and Jobs and Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) programmes, while adding on to such initiatives with the establishment of the Licensed Food Distribution and Marketing companies by the Private Sector throughout the country at the district level.

“These companies would constitute a vital link between farmers and market queens in the urban and peri-urban areas, which would be complemented by the introduction of a digitalised food distribution and marketing online platform that would connect producers to buyers and consumers,” he explained.

He further told the supporters that he was the right man to lead the party in the next general elections, stressing that if the NPP intended to make history as the only party to have ruled beyond eight years, he was the best person to achieve that.

PI/WA