The Minister of Food and Agriculture,Hon. Eric Opoku, has hinted at the Government’s plans to establish a national seed bank.
This, he said would be achieved through collaborations with the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) of the University of Ghana and other stakeholders.
A national seed bank is a facility that collects, stores, and researches seeds from a country’s native plants and crops to preserve genetic diversity and protect against extinction.
These banks are crucial for conservation efforts, providing seeds for reintroduction into the wild, developing new crop varieties, and supporting food security.
Speaking at the Government’s Accountability Series Press Conference at the Presidency in Accra, Mr Opoku mentioned a €154 million investment by the Government of Italy in partnership with BF International, aimed at transforming large-scale commercial agriculture in Ghana.
He said under this initiative, a 10,000-hectare irrigated model farm would be developed for the production of rice, maize, soya, and tomato on an all-year-round basis.
Mr Opoku said as part of the project, CIHEAM Bari, an agency of the Italian Government, would collaborate with the WACCI to establish a national seed bank, while partnering with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to implement a comprehensive soil testing and suitability programme.
He said they would also build schools, hospitals, ICT centres, and community centres for all communities in the production enclaves.
Mr Opoku noted that in addition, Almansour Holding in the State of Qatar would establish a $3.5 billion fertiliser production plant and a fertiliser academy in Ghana, alongside a $1.5 billion all-year-round food production initiative targeting export to Qatar.
He said the Government, with the support of development partners, was setting up a new soya processing plant in Northern Ghana to process soybeans into soya cake and oil.
Mr Opoku said while the oil was edible, the cake would contribute to a reduction in poultry feed costs in Ghana.
He said the capacity of the soya plant was 40 metric tonnes per day at an estimated cost of $370,000 .
He reiterated that this would provide guaranteed markets for soya farmers in northern Ghana.
