At Graphic National Development Series: 40% Locally produced fruits, vegetables go waste — Agric economist

An Agricultural Economics lecturer has urged the state to lead in the process to address post-harvest losses, stressing that the nation lost close to 40 per cent of vegetables and fruits produced in the country annually.

Dr Camillus Wongnaa of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) said the country must develop the food warehousing system for food storage, and also fix deplorable roads within farming communities for easy transportation of food items, adding that "majority of our farm produce end up rotten in the bush because roads leading to the farms are in a deplorable state".

He said post-harvest loss was one of the main setbacks in the country's agricultural sector.

Dr Wongnaa was sharing his thoughts during a panel discussion at the latest Graphic National Development Series in Kumasi last Monday.

The series, an initiative of the Graphic Communication Group Ltd (GCGL), gave the platform to political parties to outline their manifesto promises regarding the promotion of agriculture and agro-processing to harmonise the nation's efforts towards achieving food sustainability and security.

It was held on the theme: "Transforming Ghana's Agriculture through Diversification and Entrepreneurship for Food Security and Sustainable Development" in partnership with the Agricultural Development Bank, Calighana and KGL.

The event brought together experts from academia and industry players to discuss the country’s potential in the agricultural sector to propose ways of harnessing the prospects for national development.

At some point it virtually turned into a campaign platform, as supporters of the parties cheered on their sides during their presentations.

Irrigation system

Contributing to the conversation as a panellist, Dr Wongnaa stressed the urgent need for successive governments to see irrigation as a catalyst towards ensuring  all-year-round farming in order to prioritise its potential to safeguard the nation's food security.

"We can only sustain our food production through investing in irrigation channels. Rains are unpredictable today because of climate change, and we can't continue doing the same traditional farm practices, and expect different results," Dr Wongnaa said.

The lecturer further rallied the public for the establishment of a national agriculture framework in the form of a long-term agriculture policy where instituted roadmaps for building the agricultural sector would be executed without interference from the government of the day.

He said once the country was food secure, it would affect other sectors positively, hence the need to pay critical attention to the sector.

Alternative actions

A development planner and agricultural economist, Dr Monica Addison, another panellist, emphasised the need for successive governments to capitalise on irrigation to improve agriculture.

Dr Addison, who is also the Director of the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD) of  KNUST, said irrigation was the way to further ameliorate the water supply situation, ultimately assisting farmers to boost agricultural yield, considering the devastating nature of climate change and other established bottlenecks associated with farming.

She further emphasised the importance of such initiatives in fostering agricultural productivity and economic growth, highlighting the need for governments to be committed to supporting the agricultural sector through strategic investments.

Dr Addison said it was worrying that a paltry five per cent of the youthful population, according to a recent survey, were interested in farming, a situation she said, had dire consequences for the country.

She, therefore, urged governments to make agriculture more attractive by resourcing farmers and making the farming profession rewarding.

Welcome address

The Corporate Communications Manager of GCGL, Emmanuel Agyei Arthur, said the company, as the leader in the media industry, had a greater responsibility to set the agenda for the country’s development.

He said over the years, the company had played an important role in the country’s development, and that the Graphic National Development Series was an additional avenue to help the country to discuss major challenges.

The series, he said, had created a pool of solutions critical to the country’s development, explaining that the agricultural sector, for instance, was the key driver of the country’s economy.

'Campaign platform'

Representatives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and  Alan Kyerematen’s Movement for Change took turns to push through their policy proposals in the area of agriculture.

Also in attendance were the Audit Manager of GCGL, Fearon Attoh; the acting Circulation Manager, Martin Sarfo Omari; the Advert and Sales Manager, George Danso; the Zonal Business Manager for Ashanti and northern areas, Benjamin Tsatsu Korsinah, and the Ashanti Regional Finance Officer, Christian Nouchie.