Pre-season Agricultural Forum Held
The eighth Annual Northern Ghana Pre-season Planning and Networking Forum has been held in Tamale bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural sector to share lessons and foster business relationships before the upcoming planting season.
Over 800 participants including farmers, researchers, agro-input dealers, and service providers from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions participated in the event organized by the Agricultural Technology Transfer project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG).
This year's event was on the theme: 'Quality Seed: Necessity for Food and Jobs,' which highlighted the crucial role seed played in the development of the country's agricultural sector.
The event featured over 50 companies, which showcased their products and services ranging from production and processing equipment to improved seed varieties, weather information, and finance opportunities.
Dr Sagre Bambangi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in-charge of Annual Crops, who addressed the forum on Wednesday, challenged all stakeholders concerned in the production of certified seeds to work hard to produce adequate quantities to ensure that the country did not rely on imported certified seeds.
Limited availability of certified seeds restricts the country's ability to overcome climate change and agricultural challenges, which threaten the country's food security.
However, over the last few years, through the partnership between the government and the USAID Feed the Future Initiative, a number of interventions had been implemented to improve the country's seed sector to ensure the production of adequate quality seeds to meet the demands of farmers.
Dr Bambangi assured that the government would make a conscious effort for the provision of the requisite infrastructure and regulatory framework to create the necessary enabling environment for the effective development of the seed industry.
He said 'Very soon, a new project, Savannah Zone Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project is to be launched and one of the components is the provision of seed infrastructure to support commercial production of improved seeds'.
Mr Thomas Havor, President of NASTAG was hopeful that the collaboration between the private sector and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture would contribute to eliminating fake seed producers out of the system, to ensure that farmers had access to approved quality seeds for increased productivity.
Miss Jenna Tajchman, USAID/Ghana Agriculture Sector Team Leader said 'USAID is committed to working with the government and our partners to help agricultural stakeholders access the tools and knowledge they need to thrive and ultimately end their reliance on aid. These efforts include improving access to seed - one of the most important agriculture technologies.'