President Akufo-Addo opens 75 greenhouse farms; Similar facilities up in Akomadan, Bawjiase
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has inaugurated 75 greenhouses and a centre for training of young entrepreneurs at the Dawhenya Irrigation Site in the Ningo Prampram District in the Greater Accra Region.
The greenhouse farm, he said was he biggest in West Africa and would produce 45,000 tonnes of vegetables, valued at GH¢11 million, annually.
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Currently, produce from the farm are sold in shops such as Shoprite, the Farmers Market, Eden Tree, among other grocery shops.
The greenhouse system is an integral part of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.
The 192-capacity hostel training facility, called the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, will offer practical training, to be given by experts from Israel and other countries, to Ghanaians.
The centre currently employs 230 people.
Attached to it are a multi-purpose conference centre and health and recreational facilities.
Similar facilities have been constructed in Akomadan in the Ashanti Region and Bawjiase in the Central Region, both at a cost of $22 million.
The project is the initiative of the Ministry of Business Development and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.
Addressing the gathering before the inauguration, President Akufo-Addo expressed gladness at the project because it would train and encourage more youth to enter agriculture, which engages more than 50 per cent of the population.
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He said over the years, the interest of the youth in the sector had waned because it was characterised by old-fashioned production methods and low income levels of farmers and fisher folks, and expressed the hope that the centre would offer training to whip up the interest of the youth in agriculture.
Global market
President Akufo-Addo said the World Bank had estimated that agriculture and agribusiness together could contribute $1 trillion to Africa's economy by 2030, compared with $313 billion in 2010.
He said the $1 trillion would be possible and benefit Ghana if more irrigation, smart businesses, trade policies and a dynamic private agribusiness sector were harnessed to work side by side with the government and link farmers to consumers in an increasingly urbanised Africa.
Charge
“I thank the dynamic Minister of Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, and the hardworking Chief Executive Officer of the NEIP, Mr John Kumah, for this brilliant project,” the President said, and charged the two to continue to collaborate with the ministers of Food and Agriculture and of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation to enhance the prospects of success of the venture.
Greenhouse
He said the new project was of great significance because it would modernise agriculture through the greenhouse technology, which was a major plank of the government's programme for the PFJ, meaning the facility would offer resilience for unfavourable weather conditions and all- year-round farming.
He explained that cultivating vegetables at the greenhouse had numerous advantages, such as allowing farmers to plant under normal optimal conditions, leading to the good development of crops and guaranteed decent prices, while issues such as drought were mitigated by the use of greenhouses.
COVID-19
President Akufo-Addo said the COVID-19 pandemic had wreaked havoc but said Ghanaians must develop domestic solutions to combat the challenges presented by the pandemic by strengthening the indigenous productive capacity.
He urged the Ministry of Business Development to take the lead towards developing domestic businesses into successful enterprises that could create the much-needed jobs for the population, especially the youth.
Minister
For his part, Dr Awal cited the example of Kenya, which exports $3 billion worth of fruits to the European market, and said Ghana, which was closer to that market but unfortunately was a net importer of vegetables from Europe and South Africa, could take advantage and reverse the trend, saying the Akufo-Addo administration was bent on doing that.
He said the greenhouse estates and the training school were established to offer practical training in entrepreneurship and business because the youth were intelligent, smart and innovative and all they needed was leadership.
He said the leadership they required was the one they had in President Akufo-Addo, who was providing them the opportunity and assistance, as well as the favourable environment to put their innovation into practice.
