Stakeholders in the Horticulture Industry have called on the government to provide adequate research funding to take the necessary measures to control disease and insect infestations on farms.
Horti Fresh, a commercial fruit and vegetable sector development in West Africa urged the government to provide direct funding to vegetable and fruit farmers to improve production as the industry has huge prospects to widen the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
Programmes Manager, Sheila Assibey-Yeboah, says the government needs to invest more in the horticulture sector by providing adequate research funding to combat pests and diseases.
She was speaking at a closeout ceremony of Horti Fresh West Africa.
“Financing is key, and it’s important to improve access to financing to the sector. Pests and diseases are still prevalent. If you’re giving funds to producers and they have challenges with geographical pests and diseases, then it nullifies everything, so we need research to ensure that we have solutions ready when we encounter pests and diseases. This I believe will improve productivity and minimise losses at the production level,” she revealed.
Horti Fresh West Africa has for the past eight years supported the horticulture sector through increasing the value of exports, both to the EU and to regional markets.
A senior research scientist with the Crops Research Institute, Dr Michael Kwabena Osei, says, “vegetable and fruit farmers need continuous education to sustain the horticulture industry,” he said.
Some institutions in Ghana were selected and trained by Horti Fresh to educate the youth on vegetable and fruit farming.