Ghana Should Revisit Gen. Acheampong’s Policies – Prof. Agyeman-Duah

The Chief Executive Officer of the J.A. Kufuor Foundation, Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has urged Ghanaian leaders to revive key economic policies introduced by former Head of State, General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, describing them as highly beneficial to Ghana’s development.

In a tribute video marking 46 years since the passing of Gen. Acheampong—who led Ghana from January 1972 to July 1978—Prof. Agyeman-Duah expressed concern over the country’s increasing reliance on food imports and foreign control of its economy.

He singled out Acheampong’s “Operation Feed Yourself” and his push for Ghanaians to take ownership of the commanding heights of the economy as policies that could have significantly curbed current economic challenges.

“If we had sustained, for instance, the programme to feed ourselves, we would not be importing tomatoes from Burkina Faso today. The cost of food in Ghana would have been lower,” he argued. “These were important initiatives that should have been continued over the years.”

Highlighting the consequences of neglecting self-reliance in food production, he added, “We have become incapable of feeding ourselves and are now spending a large portion of our resources importing basic food items that we can easily produce locally.”

Prof. Agyeman-Duah emphasized that Ghana’s mounting debt burden could have been mitigated had the country maintained Acheampong’s economic strategies.

“If we were to return to some of Acheampong’s policies—particularly those focused on food production and economic sovereignty—I believe Ghana would be in a far better position today.”

He concluded by encouraging national leaders to look beyond the former leader’s military background and focus on the enduring relevance of his development policies.

“Though he was a military ruler, some of the policies he introduced were visionary. We should be proud of those and consider re-adopting them to move the nation forward,” he said.

Watch the video below: