Mr Kenneth Wujangi, Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of operations, has said public private partnerships in the vegetable production, is essential to enhance growth and deliver reliable stream of information and technology in emerging trends.

He said collaborative partnerships could be used to effectively bridge the gap between the public and private sectors to meet the farmer and consumer needs.

Mr Wujangi said this at a conference on public private partnership in the vegetables value chain in Accra.

The conference was organised by the Strategic Development Alliance with support from ICCO, an NGO and implementing partners like Vegpro Ghana, Eden tree, Agribusiness Systems International, Valmont Valley and Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural Africa Plant Products.

He noted that effective public private partnership offers ways to translate scientific research into simple, useful tools and services to enhance the production of farmer’s produce.

“Partnerships offer faster and more resilient transformation of innovation pipelines in the agricultural sector as well as increase the effectiveness and scale of farmer’s input,’’ he added.

He said the agricultural sector in the country has grown significantly with new technologies and improved practices in a bid to ensure food security.

Mr Wujangi said with the threat of climate change, increased pest infestation and chronic malnutrition, which affects food nutrition, there is the need to focus attention on scientific advancement.

Mr Bert Bosh, Regional Manager of ICCO said vegetables value chain has potential impact on the livelihoods of thousands of the country’s poorest population.

He said ICCO is strengthening the position of smallholder farmers in Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Senegal by integrating them into value chains for shea, sesame, soya and vegetables.

“Our outfit had supported 880 farmers through the CASH-project, provided technical and vocational skills training and supported them to deliver products that comply with national or international standards”.

Mr Kwasi Korboe, Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture said ggovernment and its partners has promoted the consumption of fruit and vegetables by awareness creation for behaviour change.

He said the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists, Food and Agriculture Organisation and the University of Ghana organised a workshop on 'Production and Consumption of Vegetables and Fruits.

He said government has restructured the Youth in Agriculture programme under the new Youth Employment Agency in order to boost the interest of young people in agriculture.

This he explained would ensure that young people are equipped with requisite skills and machinery to engage in large scale cultivation to meet high demands.