Ghana, Iran to expand cooperation in agriculture

Ghana's Minister of Food and Agriculture Ernest Debrah on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with Iran-Ghana cooperation and said that such cooperation should be strengthened.

Speaking to IRNA on the sidelines of a tour of Rice Research Institute in the provincial capital of Rasht, he said that three meetings have so far been held on the issue.

The African minister along with his accompanying delegation arrived in Gilan province on a two-day visit on Tuesday.

"The two countries cooperate closely in development of rural areas and hospitals among other fields. Now we intend to expand such cooperation," he added.

Concerning his visit to Gilan province, he said that Ghana's government is willing to develop the country's agriculture, adding that to achieve such a goal visits to countries, where agriculture is one of their main activities, is on its agenda.

"Given that Iran is one of the states mainly involved in agriculture and Gilan is said to be a province with good agricultural infrastructures and status, we are here to get an idea on the measures taken in the sector as well as the new technologies developed and researches conducted in this regard to prepare the grounds for cooperation," he said.

Debrah and his entourage are scheduled to visit Rasht Sturgeon Breeding Institute, Lahijan queenbee breeding center, Lahijan modern rice beating plant, Roudsar kiwi and citrus fruit orchards, Rasht silk worm seed breeding workshop, cooperative for breeding hot water fish, UF cheese processing plant and Foumanat irrigation installations.

Meanwhile, head of Agriculture Jihad Department of Gilan province, Seyed Nassir Seyrd Mohammadi told IRNA that the visit of the delegation from Ghana aims to examine the prospect of trade and economic exchanges between the two sides.

"Some 150,000 tons of rice are produced annually in Ghana and 300,000 tons of rice are imported to the country per year to supply the people's demands. Therefore, it seeks to achieve self-sufficiency and supply its required rice product.

"The African delegation seek to use the experience of Gilani farmers to achieve the goals set by their country in the domain of agriculture," he added.

Ministry of Agriculture Jihad established a representative office in Ghana in 1988, which provides African countries with friendly assistance in rural agricultural industries and construction of mosques.

There are 400,000 hectares of agricultural lands in the northern Gilan province.