Engineering must drive Ghana’s food security agenda — GhIE
The Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) has called for engineering to be placed at the centre of Ghana’s agricultural transformation, describing it as critical to achieving food security and building a resilient economy.
It said repositioning engineering as a core driver of agriculture would help address systemic inefficiencies across the food value chain and ensure sustainable national development.
The President of GhIE, Ludwig Annang Hesse, made the call at a press briefing on Tuesday in Accra, following the Institution’s 56th Annual General Meeting and Engineering Conference held in Ho in the Volta Region.
The conference, held from March 16 to 20, was on the theme: ‘Engineering the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Value Chain.’
Hesse said the theme reflected a national imperative to secure Ghana’s food systems, strengthen agricultural value chains, and build a self-sufficient economy.
He noted that food security remained a major challenge, citing post-harvest losses, limited mechanisation, infrastructure deficits, and climate variability as key constraints.
Hesse stressed that engineering must no longer be treated as a support function in agriculture, but as an enabler that connects production to markets, innovation to impact, and policy to measurable results.
Furthermore, he said the conference underscored the need for a holistic approach to food security, covering the entire value chain—from production systems such as irrigation and mechanisation to post-harvest management where significant losses occur.
According to him, inadequate storage, weak cold chain systems, and limited processing infrastructure continued to undermine gains made at the production stage.
Additionally, he highlighted the importance of efficient transportation and logistics systems to link farmers to markets, as well as the need to expand agro-processing to support value addition and industrial growth.
Mr Hesse said Ghana’s agricultural sector must transition from subsistence farming to a modern, technology-driven and commercialised system, supported by automation and data-driven decision-making.
He indicated that climate change had introduced urgency to the need for climate-smart engineering solutions, including efficient water use systems, renewable energy integration, and resilient infrastructure.
The GhIE President also pointed to the growing role of innovation and digital technologies in improving productivity, but said scaling such solutions would require strong policy support, investment, and capacity development.
He emphasised the need to empower young engineers and increase the participation of women in both engineering and agriculture to sustain long-term progress.
Moreover, Mr Hesse called for greater investment in local innovation and manufacturing, noting that Ghana had the capacity to develop its own agricultural technologies and equipment.
He said achieving these goals would require strong collaboration across sectors, supported by coherent government policies and public-private partnerships.
Mr Hesse outlined key action points from the conference, including prioritising food security as an engineering issue, accelerating investment in irrigation, promoting mechanisation, improving road infrastructure, and expanding post-harvest systems such as storage and cold chains.
He said the GhIE remained committed to providing technical leadership and working with government and industry to translate the conference outcomes into tangible results.
BY STEPHANIE BIRIKORANG
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