Manpower Alone Can’t Develop Africa – Dumelo

The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, John Dumelo, has said that Africa cannot compete with the rest of the world if it continuously relies on manpower for its developmental needs.

According to the renowned actor, the continent will need a holistic and systematic approach towards development, instead of the cutlass and hoe method of farming it is currently embarking on.

“I was privileged to speak on Agriculture in Africa at Sahara Sparks in Tanzania. We need a technological approach to achieve the agricultural revolution. We can’t compete with the West with our cutlass and hoe lifestyle. We talk about food security on the African continent but we are not ready to take risks. Risks that will see our lands being turned into major food baskets,” he said in a facebook post after speaking at the event.

He argued that, one sure way of stopping the importation of foodstuff is to make sure that every uncultivated land on the continent is put to agricultural use.

“Africa has the world’s largest arable land, yet we import food worth billions of dollars each year. About 60 percent of our land is uncultivated and by 2025, Africa will be importing $110 billion worth of food. It’s time for us to cash in on that. Let’s start growing and stop importing. Let’s shift our focus to maximizing output and consuming what we grow. It’s time for us to change the narrative. It’s time for Africa,” he added.