Ghana: $2.1m to train soil scientists

  1. Posted on Thursday 9 September 2010 - 11:35
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    Kofi Adu Domfeh, AfricaNews reporter in Kumasi, Ghana
    About $2.1 million is being invested over the next five years to train soil scientists for the West African sub-region. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been selected to build a centre of excellence to oversee the project.
    Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania
    Twenty students from Baukina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria will be offered scholarships to undertake a four-year PhD programme at the university under the aegis of the Alliance for Green Revolution Africa (AGRA).

    They are expected to contribute to the achievement of an envisaged six percent growth in Africa’s food production by 2015 under the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP).

    Over 300 thousand dollars is already being invested in laboratory upgrade at the KNUST’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

    Constraints in soil fertility have been identified as key factor militating against high agricultural productivity in Africa. Degraded soils have resulted in very low yields and low agricultural production.

    AGRA President, Dr. Namanga Ngongi told Luv Fm in Ghana’s second city Kumasi the training of soil scientists is key to developing technologies and actions relevant to solving soil degradation problems.

    He noted “if we do not take measures to prevent further degradation and improve productivity of land then the Green Revolution will be on very weak foundations… so we’re capitalizing on seeds, soils, on markets and the policy environment that will be able to sustain agriculture”.

    Ghana’s Minister for Food and Agriculture, Kwesi Ahoi, vowed the ministry will continue collaborations with universities to “significantly upgrade the science and technological capacity of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to pave way for Ghana’s Green Revolution”.

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