Akyem Tafo (E/R), Dec. 3, GNA - The Trades Union Congress (TUC), has commended the government for imposing tariffs on imported rice and poultry products while providing a guaranteed price for locally-produced rice. Dr Yaw Baah, Acting Secretary General of the TUC, made the commendation at a lecture and awards ceremony of the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) at Akyem Tafo to climax its golden jubilee celebration.

He said Ghana could be self-sufficient in rice production adding "All we need is the right leadership and the right agricultural policies". Dr Baah urged government to do more to protect Ghanaian farmers just as the advanced countries do for their farmers.

He urged GAWU to reflect on the challenges ahead of agriculture workers in the next 50 years as they celebrate 50 long years of the existence of the union and all its achievements.

Dr Baah appealed to the union to address itself to how it could improve the income of farmers whose incomes rank the lowest in the country, how to reduce the high incidence of poverty among farmers and how to ensure decent pension/retirement for them. Mr Tony Fofie, Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, in a speech read on his behalf, said COCOBOD had set a target of attaining and sustaining a production level of one million tones of cocoa by 2012 and said they expected GAWU members in particular to contribute immensely to that achievement.

Dr Alhassan Yakubu Ahmed, chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs who was the guest of honour, commended GAWU on its involvement in advocacy work than any other union in the country.

"The union has taken up advocacy issues at all levels, campaigning for the promotion of a local rice industry as a critical dimension of their overall food security work, campaign against the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), campaigning against child labour, misuse and abuse of agrochemicals among others".

Dr Ahmed said before the current government, GAWU made several advocacy trips to Parliament, especially to promote the domestic production of rice and presented their very critical views on the EPA. He said GAWU always demonstrated a high level of preparation and knowledge and even more important, a commitment to national development-devoid of partisan colourings.

Mr Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, General Secretary of GAWU, mentioned the insecurity of employment whereby some employers could terminate workers without assigning reasons as one of the major challenges facing the union. Dr Frank M. Amoah, Acting Executive Director, Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, called on all agricultural workers to take stock of the past and assess whether they had made meaningful contribution to the agriculture industry in finding solutions to problems that had militated against the attainment of food security and the production of raw materials for agro-based industries. Mr Ransford Tetteh, Editor of Graphic Communications Group limited, later launched "GAWU Speaks" a quarterly publication of GAWU. The anniversary is being celebrated under the theme "50 Years of Organizing Agricultural Workers for Development: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects"