Panelists Call for Diversification of Agriculture in Ghana
TIMOTHY NGNENBE
Daily Graphic
21 JULY 2016
Dr Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu (2nd right), Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, making a point at the Joybusiness busy talk held in Accra. With him are from left, Ms Dede Amanor Wilk, Moderator; Mr David Asiamah, Agro Mindset; Mr Selorm Branttie, Dr Charles Tortoe, Head of Food Technology Research Division, CSIR, and Dr Baah Boateng. Picture: EMMANUEL ASAMOAH ADDAI Dr Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu (2nd right), Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, making a point at the Joybusiness busy talk held in Accra. With him are from left, Ms Dede Amanor Wilk, Moderator; Mr David Asiamah, Agro Mindset; Mr Selorm Branttie, Dr Charles Tortoe, Head of Food Technology Research Division, CSIR, and Dr Baah Boateng. Picture: EMMANUEL ASAMOAH ADDAI
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu, has called for a convergence of policies by the ministries of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and Trade and Industry (MTI), to boost the commercialisation of agriculture.
He said as a result of industrialisation, agricultural produce should be looked at beyond the consumption motive, as raw materials for manufacturing and the service industries, stressing that this is why there ought to be a link between the sector and other areas.
Public forum
Dr Yakubu made the call during a discussion on the role a robust agribusiness regime could play to transform the economy at a public forum in Accra last Tuesday.
The forum, which was dubbed “The Joy Business Busy Talks,” was under the auspices of Joy FM and Busy Business, a technology outfit in the country. It was on the theme: “Transforming Ghana: Agribusiness to the Rescue?”
Participants were drawn from MoFA, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Bank of Ghana (BoG), and other stakeholders in agriculture.
Institutional collaboration
Dr Alhassan said there ought to be institutional collaborations to ensure that post-harvest losses were minimised, for which reason he called on entrepreneurs to take advantage of the lapses in the value chain to make profit.
He also called for public private partnership (PPP) in the provision of infrastructure and investment opportunities to boost the sector.
Diversification of agriculture
For his part, a senior research fellow at the African Centre for Economic Transformation, Dr William Baah Boateng, said agriculture was the backbone of the country’s economy and that it was important to diversify the sector to propel national development.
He called for a regime where there would be efficient correlation between the manufacturing and service sector on one hand, and the primary sector on the other.
“There should be a structural change of our economy such that the country can shed off activity from the agricultural sector to other sectors,” he proposed.
Prioritise research
A Principal Research Scientist and Head of Food Technology Research at the CSIR, Dr Charles Tortoe, called for priority to be placed on research in order to create a conducive environment that would prevent post-harvest losses and boost the sector.
He said the CSIR had conducted a score of researches and came out with useful technologies that could be tapped to transform the agricultural sector, but those great ideas had not been utilised by the public.
Dr Tortoe called on financial institutions to support farmers and young entrepreneurs to promote agribusiness in the country.
Other participants underscored the need to adopt modern technologies to gather data in order to engage farmers on best farming practices.
They called for an improvement in agricultural extension services in rural areas to encourage more young people to go into agriculture.
Daily Graphic
21 JULY 2016
Dr Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu (2nd right), Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, making a point at the Joybusiness busy talk held in Accra. With him are from left, Ms Dede Amanor Wilk, Moderator; Mr David Asiamah, Agro Mindset; Mr Selorm Branttie, Dr Charles Tortoe, Head of Food Technology Research Division, CSIR, and Dr Baah Boateng. Picture: EMMANUEL ASAMOAH ADDAI Dr Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu (2nd right), Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, making a point at the Joybusiness busy talk held in Accra. With him are from left, Ms Dede Amanor Wilk, Moderator; Mr David Asiamah, Agro Mindset; Mr Selorm Branttie, Dr Charles Tortoe, Head of Food Technology Research Division, CSIR, and Dr Baah Boateng. Picture: EMMANUEL ASAMOAH ADDAI
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu, has called for a convergence of policies by the ministries of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and Trade and Industry (MTI), to boost the commercialisation of agriculture.
He said as a result of industrialisation, agricultural produce should be looked at beyond the consumption motive, as raw materials for manufacturing and the service industries, stressing that this is why there ought to be a link between the sector and other areas.
Public forum
Dr Yakubu made the call during a discussion on the role a robust agribusiness regime could play to transform the economy at a public forum in Accra last Tuesday.
The forum, which was dubbed “The Joy Business Busy Talks,” was under the auspices of Joy FM and Busy Business, a technology outfit in the country. It was on the theme: “Transforming Ghana: Agribusiness to the Rescue?”
Participants were drawn from MoFA, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Bank of Ghana (BoG), and other stakeholders in agriculture.
Institutional collaboration
Dr Alhassan said there ought to be institutional collaborations to ensure that post-harvest losses were minimised, for which reason he called on entrepreneurs to take advantage of the lapses in the value chain to make profit.
He also called for public private partnership (PPP) in the provision of infrastructure and investment opportunities to boost the sector.
Diversification of agriculture
For his part, a senior research fellow at the African Centre for Economic Transformation, Dr William Baah Boateng, said agriculture was the backbone of the country’s economy and that it was important to diversify the sector to propel national development.
He called for a regime where there would be efficient correlation between the manufacturing and service sector on one hand, and the primary sector on the other.
“There should be a structural change of our economy such that the country can shed off activity from the agricultural sector to other sectors,” he proposed.
Prioritise research
A Principal Research Scientist and Head of Food Technology Research at the CSIR, Dr Charles Tortoe, called for priority to be placed on research in order to create a conducive environment that would prevent post-harvest losses and boost the sector.
He said the CSIR had conducted a score of researches and came out with useful technologies that could be tapped to transform the agricultural sector, but those great ideas had not been utilised by the public.
Dr Tortoe called on financial institutions to support farmers and young entrepreneurs to promote agribusiness in the country.
Other participants underscored the need to adopt modern technologies to gather data in order to engage farmers on best farming practices.
They called for an improvement in agricultural extension services in rural areas to encourage more young people to go into agriculture.
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