Minister of Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has tendered his resignation from government.
He resigned in a letter submitted to President Akufo-Addo, after a meeting at the Jubilee House on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
The move comes barely a week after the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, also resigned from the government.
Reports are rife the two are leaving the government to begin their long-held quests to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as Flagbearer.
Mr Kyerematen has since his resignation thanked the President for allowing him to serve in his government for the past six years.
The two are among some party bigwigs who are said to have been harbouring ambitions to take over from President Akufo-Addo as the party’s Presidential Candidate for the next elections in 2024.
Before proceeding to the Presidency on Tuesday, Dr Afriyie Akoto is said to have held a farewell party with staff of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Profile:
Honourable (Hon) Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto holds M.Sc. and PhD degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Cambridge, England. He worked as an Economist, Senior Economist, Principal Economist, and Chief Economic Advisor over a period of 18 years at the International Coffee Organization (ICO) in London, England. He has also worked as a consultant to the World Bank and the United Nations on Soft Commodities (Cocoa, Coffee, Sugar). Between 1995 and 2007, he was the CEO of two international commodity companies, Goldcrest Commodities Limited and Plantation Resources Limited both based in Ghana.
In 2008 he was elected to the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana. He spent two terms as Member of Parliament for Kwadaso Constituency in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. In Parliament, he held the positions of Deputy Ranking Member and subsequently the substantive Ranking Member for the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs until 2017.
In 2017 he was appointed the Minister for Food and Agriculture. In this role he has spearheaded the design and implementation of the Government of Ghana’s popular and transformational agricultural flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ).
