Accra,(Greater Accra Region). 23, Sept. Mr. John E. Afful, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, today stressed the need to step up efforts at commercialising science and technology research results to boost economic growth. ''The government expects the scientific community to master and extend technologies to all levels of society to influence progress, particularly in the rural areas,'' he said. Mr. Afful was inaugurating the reconstituted governing council of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Accra. The 21-member council is under the chairmanship of Mr. Henry Dei, Director-General of SSNIT. It has 40 per cent representation from the private sector and was reconstituted following the re-establishment of CSIR under Act 521 of 1996. CSIR's new objectives include making it more responsive to the needs of the country by ensuring a closer linkage between public sector science and technology institutions and the private sector. Mr. Afful said his ministry's medium term plan, in line with the objectives of Vision 2020, focuses on the application of science and technology to all economic, social and cultural activities ''to increase productivity in the use of our human and material resources. ''Indeed, in the Vision 2020 policy document, it is envisaged that science and technology will be the driving force that would propel the country's economic growth''. Mr. Afful called on CSIR institutions to devote more attention and resources to facilitate the promotion of indigenous and medium scale enterprises which account for a significant share of economic activities in the country. He said one of the cardinal functions of the council is to advise the government on scientific and technological advances likely to be of importance to national development and urged them to take this function seriously. The minister commended CSIR for its new commercialization drive, citing a revenue of 200 million cedis the Oil Palm Research Institutes earned last year, out of which vehicles and other crucial needs of the CSIR have been met. On issues related to the Institute's lands, he said government is processing the necessary documents for payment of compensation to land owners and warned all those encroaching on CSIR lands to stop it.