MoFA and GCIC discuss climate smart agriculture
Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has held a day’s forum to promote the operationalisation of the National Climate Smart Agriculture Action Plan (NCSAAP). It will also ensure food security and stimulate green business opportunities.
The day’s event also served as a platform for key stakeholders in climate business to have in-depth discussions on the practice and benefits that could be derived from the action plan.
Under the theme: “Creating Green Businesses Through Climate Smart Agriculture”, the forum sought to create linkages and networking platform for stakeholders and identify available support structures in the area of skills training, financing, marketing for green entrepreneurs.
Mr Seth Osei Akoto, Director-Crop Service at MoFA speaking at the opining in Accra said the optimal operationalisation of the current action plan would boost the productivity, profitability, create jobs and ensure sustainability of agriculture.
He said there was the urgent need to expand the horizon of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) to the realms of entrepreneurs and businesses by updating their knowledge the opportunities that Climate Change presents.
Mr Akoto explained that green business opportunities existed in the area of electronic extension and marketing, soil management and conditioning, agronomic practices, efficient water management, harvesting and post-harvest.
Other areas he noted included; organic agriculture, livestock feed preparation, agriculture infrastructure and machinery, food processing and many more and stated that the joint efforts as green businesses and agriculture practitioners could increase the income of famers exponentially and reduce poverty.
The Director added that exploring the opportunities in green business would contribute to the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) from the Agriculture, Forestry and other land use sector that stood at almost 25 per cent.
Dr Erick Twum, the Policy Fellow at Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) said the centre was pioneering business incubator with a unique focus of developing businesses in Ghana’s ‘Green Economy’ who are championing adaptive and mitigating solutions for climate change issues.
He noted that the GCIC would continue to provide support to businesses involved in the energy efficiency, water purification and management, domestic waste management, solar energy and climate smart agriculture.
Dr Twum said the agriculture sector drove many economies and climate change posed great risk to the sector in terms of floods, droughts, rising sea levels- threatening farmers and businesses along the entire value chain leading to loss of livelihood and food insecurity.
Quoting from the 2010 Ghana Statistical Service report, he said the agricultural sector, the largest employer of the economy over the years had been adversely affected by climate change and variability.
Source: GNA