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By Francis Ameyibor, RNG
Accra, June 4, GNA – President Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to launch the project "Livestock for Food and Employment".
program to facilitate livestock growth, Dr. Owusu
Afriyie-Akoto, Minister of Food and Agriculture, said Tuesday in Accra.
Livestock for food and employment is another
Government Flagship Project, which aims to increase livestock production and
reduce meat imports and meet local demand.
Afriyie-Akoto said during the girl
edition of a summit on agri-food, innovation and technology (AGRICTECH 2019)
double; "Ghana Grows with Israel (GHrow-IL) Organized by the Economic and Trade Conference
Mission of Israel to Ghana and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with others
local partners.
Summit combines public lecture and agricultural conference
Technology Fair focused on input technologies, modern agronomic practices and
financing models in the agri-food sector offers Ghana a unique opportunity to use
Israeli know-how, accumulated over thousands of years.
The Minister of Agriculture said that the new
This program would complement the Planting for Food and Employment program to increase food resources.
production and address the problem of food insecurity.
He stated that the government remained committed to
modernization and transform the agricultural sector to create jobs and
wealth for the citizens.
On the summit, Dr. Afriyie-Akoto described
as a better opportunity for Ghana to accelerate the transformation of
agriculture to improve incomes and create jobs.
He said that it was simply unacceptable to
continue to lament the woes of agriculture in the 21st century when technology
abounds and can be adapted and adopted.
"Although we agree that agriculture
transformation potential of African economies and poverty reduction, we have
for nearly two decades paid lip service to do something about the exploitation of the
full potential of the sector.
"We can not accelerate agricultural development
when yields of many crops are below 60% of their potential
yields due to low adoption of improved seeds and fertilizer, less than five
% of arable land is irrigated, when the use of agricultural machinery
is limited and when post-harvest losses are still between 30 and 50%
cent depending on the culture ".
He said: "It is in the spirit of changing
In this situation, the government launched the Planter program for food and employment, a
major campaign of modernization and transformation of agriculture.
"We realized performance increases for
staple crops and participation in the program increased from 202,000 in 2017
677,000 in 2018. One million beneficiaries are targeted in
2019 ".
Dr. Afriyie-Akoto congratulated the very old
bilateral development cooperation with Israel, which have been strengthened
recently through increased training programs in Ghana and Israel.
"We recognize technological progress
Israel has done in the field of agriculture and will benefit immensely from
their.
"We are currently working with Israel
develop production capacity in the greenhouse and through bilateral relations.
Ghanaian Youth Will Follow Yearly Training in Israel Every Year
in greenhouse production. We are too
partnership in the application of irrigation technology, "he said.
He said that Ghana had adopted a holistic approach
approach to agricultural development based on the value chain concept. It's in
this light that more emphasis is put on the marketing and treatment of the
Surplus production carried out as part of Plantation for Food and Employment.
Afriyie-Akoto said that efforts were also
be done to introduce equipment for treatment. This corresponded to the
The government's initiative "A district, a factory" aimed at developing the
industry and job creation.
"Support the adoption of technology and
investments in innovative financing solutions for agribusiness
developed, "said Dr. Afriyie-Akoto.
Ms. Ayelet Levin-Karp, Israeli Trade Manager
and economic mission to Ghana, said that the GHrow-IL 2019 was created to offer a
single platform where the channels of cooperation and technology transfer between
Ghanaian and Israeli partners can be explored.
GNA
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