Mrs Sherry Aryeetey, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has appealed to researchers and academicians to use national development challenges and policy directions as a guide in their choice of issues and topics they conduct research on to ensure national development.

She said the Ministry was collaborating with academia, not only on the planning and identification of issues that drives policy development, but also in the development of framework implementation as well as monitoring and the evaluation of programmes that facilitates rebuilding.

Mrs Aryeetey made the appeal at the opening of a four-day conference of the Ghana Geographers Association and the Ghana Geography Teachers Association conference in Accra.

It is on the theme, ’Geography, Place and Development: Missing Link in Ghana’s Development Agenda’.

Mrs Aryeetey said within the natural resource sector, government was embarking on a renewed collaboration with Universities to ensure sustainability in its true sense, with the integration of knowledge from all relevant disciplines.

She urged the participants to collaborate with researchers from disciplines and institutions in finding innovative solutions to the many challenges confronting the nation.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Minister tasked geographers to play a role in driving the development as well as implementation of government policies in the areas of agriculture, renewable energy and climate change.

Dr Tony Aubyn, Chief Executive Officer of Minerals Commission, said human ingenuity has always risen beyond societal and developmental problems and challenges.

‘Sometimes it requires in-depth research within a given discipline but more often it requires collaboration from other disciplines’, he said.

Dr Aubyn expressed the hope that new business and economic opportunities would begin to take shape as geography becomes the important tool that will map areas for electricity from wind.

Mrs Eva Tagoe-Darko, President of the association called for more support from all quarters to enable the association to achieve its aims.