Invest more in horticulture to create jobs, boost exports – Veep
The Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for increased investment in Ghana’s horticulture industry to create jobs, expand exports and build sustainable businesses.
She said Ghana needed to move beyond simply growing flowers, vegetables and other horticultural products and develop a complete industry around production, processing, logistics and markets.
The Vice President made the call when she officially opened the 14th Ghana Garden and Flower Show at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang said the horticulture sector had the potential to create more livelihoods and jobs if businesses were supported to grow and compete in larger markets.
“Behind what we see immediately are growers, skills, services, markets and livelihoods,” she said.
“The opportunity is to help more of these enterprises develop into sustainable businesses that can employ others, supply larger markets and, where possible, compete beyond Ghana.”
She said the sector needed reliable transport, storage facilities, quality standards, finance and access to markets, particularly because many horticultural products were perishable.
The Vice President said government programmes, including the Feed Ghana Programme, presented opportunities for the sector.
She said vegetables were among the priority crops under the programme, with support expected in areas such as irrigation, improved inputs, greenhouse production and market access.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang also said Farmer Service Centres being established across the country would bring essential services closer to producers.
The centres are expected to provide inputs, machinery, export support and market linkages.
She urged young people to take advantage of opportunities in horticulture, saying the sector brought together agriculture, technology, creativity and enterprise.
The Vice President also linked the development of horticulture to efforts to make Ghana’s towns and cities cleaner and greener.
She said recent floods had exposed the dangers of poor environmental practices, including the dumping of plastics and household waste into drains and waterways.
“Keeping Ghana clean and making Ghana greener are parts of the same responsibility,” she said.
She said green spaces should be treated as part of development rather than as an afterthought.
The Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy, Mr Goosie Tanoh, said Ghana needed to deliberately build a horticultural industry around production, processing, logistics and markets.
He said the country had demonstrated that its horticultural products could compete on international markets, citing its mango exports.
Mr Tanoh said Ghana should also take advantage of growing domestic demand for flowers and other horticultural products.
He noted that Ghana imported roses for Valentine’s Day despite having the potential to develop its own flower industry.
He said the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat was working with a private sector investor to develop a cut-flower corridor, with plans to link production to the proposed Tamale Air Cargo Hub for export.
The Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Communications Africa Limited, Madam Esther Cobbah, said the Garden and Flower Show continued to promote the economic, environmental and social value of the horticulture sector.
She said the event was also highlighting opportunities in eco-friendly housing and other green businesses.
The 14th Ghana Garden and Flower Show will run for 11 days.
BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
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