COVID-19 LOCKDOWN BROUHAHA…IF ONLY THERE WERE STATE FARMS

Corona virus and lockdown have become two of the most used words across the world now as almost all countries are mentioning them in their respective countries.

Following measures takes across China and Europe during the novel Covid-19 outbreak, a typical is lockdown, Ghana also followed same, locking down two of its most biggest cities, Accra and Kumasi.

Before the lockdown announcement by the President on Sunday, March 29, 2020, rumours on social media revealed that there was going to be a possible lockdown.

The lockdown calls began coming in when Ghana began recording many cases after the first two on March 12.

The Ghana Medical Association was crucial in calling for the lockdown, arguing that it will be the safest way to tackle the spread of the Corona Virus.

Quickly the lockdown idea got into the minds of some section of Ghanaians, especially those on social media.

While they do so, providing reasons why there should be a lockdown on Accra and Kumasi where the cases were rising, the poor in those two cities began lamenting about the consequences.

Deducing from the argument in the country at the time, it was evident that the rich and middle class supported the lockdown while the poor lamented about the toll it will have on their petty businesses.

Irrespective of that, there were some poor citizens who said in interviews that they support the lockdown since they believe it will help eradicate the Covid-19.

Then the lockdown began on a bright Monday morning, March 30, 2020 amid a lot of shopping in markets and malls the weekend before.

While government was working at getting equipment to combat the virus, deploy the security forces, they were also thinking about how to feed some homeless Ghanaians living in Accra and Kumasi.

Soon news filming the sharing of food began as journalists were taken along to report on the food sharing exercise.

Aside sharing food to the poor, the Minister for Gender and Social Protection announced that they are accommodating about 15,000 poor and homeless people, most of whom are head porters and menial job workers in Agbogbloshie, Kaneshie, Accra Central, Madina, Kumasi among others.

These will sound like a very good initiative by government as it could be deem us advantageous to the poor.

But let us toss the coin and look at the other side, considering if there were State farms to employ these 15,000 poor and homeless people.

How long can government continue to feed and house all these people while they wake up every day without working?

That will have a big toll on our finances as it has already began doing, as it is been revealed by the Ministry, NADMO and other government agencies.

The Agriculture and Food chain sector is one that can absorb those people very quickly, an initiative that will help the country in times like these.

While I could go into revealing ideas of how to go about achieving this, I will rather urge government since it is not too late.

As we speak, we have lands, tractors, fertilizers and crop seeds belonging to government or can be afforded by government.

With a very brief and up-to-speed plan, the State Farms can be implemented right now, to cater for these homeless and poor people.

Middle class citizens who lost their jobs or unemployed can work in the value chain as supervisors and managers.

The State Farms will surely fuel us to set up very mini manufacturing plants to process and feed ourselves.

We can do it! Unless we find joy in politicizing the gesture being made to the poor at the era, something I am already witnessing.

Necessity they say is the mother of invention. Even if Kwame Nkrumah’s State Farms got mismanaged and collapsed, President Akufo-Addo can do so using that as mitigation against Covid-19.

After the virus, those State Farms will still be in operation, still providing jobs for thousands of our citizens.

But if we continue to share the food and in the haphazard manner it is being done, we will be causing ourselves more harm than good.

Few people who get infected by the virus amongst them can get others infected when they are rushing for the food.

Getting them employed will give government the opportunity to manage them and control them to adhere to the social distancing directive.

While we put up short term plans to fight the corona virus, let us look at those who can impact us enormously like the one I addressed in this short article.