With the launch of the Jospong Group Rice Project, the country's reliance on rice imports would be reduced, if not entirely eliminated, according to Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies.
This, he claimed, was the result of the Jospong Group of Companies' (JGC) constant readiness to face and address problems wherever they were identified.
With this effort we have started, the importation of rice must end, he added. "Where we identify a problem, we face it and fix it.
Dr. Agyepong made this statement at the two-day Food Security Conference 2023, which was hosted by the JGC in cooperation with the Asian African Consortium (AAC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIC) and held at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region.
The gathering, which had as its topic "Enhancing Food Security: The Role of Ghanaian Scientists," included academics, government representatives, and other experts in the rice and agricultural sectors.
The goal of the conference was to create inter-institutional technical teams with specific roles and duties to oversee the production of particular goods, including rice, jute, maize, soy beans, tomatoes, and onions, as well as set deadlines for deliverables.
Policy
Dr. Agyepong urged the stakeholders, in particular the scientists and rice farmers, to remain optimistic despite the lack of effective policies to support the endeavor.
Instead, he advised them to hold out hope that as "fruits begin to yield," laws will alter to support them. He concluded by saying, "Whether policy is supportive or not, never be discouraged."
He also urged the government not to forbid the importation of rice out of concern for the plight of the average Ghanaian.
Dr. Agyepong asked the government to instead hold out hope that the Ghanaian farmer would be pushed and given the means to produce high-quality rice for the public in the face of a prohibition.
the Green Revolution
Despite the Green Revolution's widespread success in Asian and Latin American nations, CSIR Director-General Paul P. Bosu said that Africa and Ghana, in particular, had not fully enjoyed its advantages for a variety of reasons.
However, he pointed out that it was never too late to use contemporary technologies to produce high-yielding types of food crops like rice, wheat, and others, considerably boost output, and so ensure food security for both the nation and the continent as a whole.
"Increases in the area under cultivation, multiple cropping per year, increased crop fertilization, irrigation technologies, and general improvements in agricultural machinery, in addition to the high-yielding variety, led to increased food crop production," he continued.
Therefore, he exhorted academics and regular Ghanaians to help the government realize its goal of feeding the populace and generating more foreign cash.
The project's executive director, Adelaide Siaw Agyepong, CEO of the AAC, remarked that innovation and productivity have historically been fueled by science, research, and development, which is why they are essential to everything that is done in the world.
According to her, if quick steps are not taken to increase food production, the price of Africa's annual food imports might increase from $50 billion to $110 billion by 2030.
The poor suffer the most during food crises since they are unable to buy food due to price increases.
Accordingly, the JGC and AAC, working with the CSIR, see the need to address Ghana's food security issues, she said.
SDG
Speaking on behalf of the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, the Church of Pentecost's departing general secretary, noted that the initiative had come at the perfect time to help Ghana achieve Sustainable Development Goal Two, which is to "end hunger, achieve economic prosperity, and promote peace and reconciliation."
The church applauded the CSIR for collaborating with the Jospong Group. The CSIR's primary mission is to advance national development and worldwide industrial competitiveness via scientific and technological research.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi urged the crowd, "Beyond this conference, I want to challenge this gathering to take steps to help us produce enough food to feed ourselves as Ghanaians and even export some,"
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