Govt committed to supporting R&D

Bunso (E/R), Aug. 27, GNA - Ms Sherry Ayittey, Minister for Environment Science and Technology, on Thursday said government would provide the needed support to create the environment to promote research and development in the country.

"We are confident that such supportive environment would spur the institutions to generate the necessary technologies and innovation that will benefit not only the few large commercial farmers, but the millions of small farmers," she emphasized.

Ms Ayittey said this in a speech read on her behalf at the opening of the Fourth Biennial National Delegates' Conference of the Senior Staff Association of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at Bunso in the Eastern Region. The Minister said government was committed to ensure increase in agriculture production so as to achieve food security and employment. She commended the CSIR for its contribution in agricultural research in respect of varietals trails, crosses research techniques, yield improvements and pest control.

Ms Ayittey said those indicators important as they might be, were not enough, until they were able to transfer those technologies to the farmers.

"Obviously, it is only through the actual adoption of new technology by end-users that their impact on farmers income, consumer welfare or agricultural growth, could promote the well-being of the national economy." she observed The minister observed that technology transfer and dissemination generally, had been daunting exercise in Ghana in particular and Africa as a whole.

She said the reluctance of poor subsistence farmers to accept new technologies and innovations, was the reason for the cycle of low production and productivity. She, therefore, urged CSIR to seriously consider the issue of technology transfer, dissemination and utilization for the farmers to benefit from them.

The Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Baba Jamal, said the rising phenomenon of unemployment in the country was a great source of worry to the government.

Mr Jamal said government also intended to restructure and rejuvenate the National Youth Employment Programme for more jobs to be created under the Youth in Agriculture programme. Dr .A. B Salifu, Director General, CSIR, said the Council was established to promote the cardinal role of science and technology research as a national development tool. He said the CSIR has its core business of harnessing the gains of research for national development through its 23 research institutes and their subsidiaries. 27 Aug. 09