Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has said the nation’s horticultural sector offers significant opportunities for economic growth, job creation and investment beyond the aesthetic appeal of gardens and flowers.
She said the sector supports a wide range of economic activities involving growers, skilled workers, service providers, markets and other value-chain participants.
“Behind what we see are growers, skills, services, markets, and livelihoods,” she said.
The Vice President was speaking at the 14th Ghana Garden and Flower Show (GGFS), where she called for greater support for businesses in the horticultural sector to enable them expand, create jobs, access larger markets and compete internationally.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said attention should be given to the entire horticultural value chain, including production, transportation, storage, quality standards, financing and access to markets.
She also called for the integration of greening into national development planning, stressing the importance of trees, gardens and green spaces in creating healthier and more resilient communities.
The Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy, Augustus Goosie Obuadum Tanoh, also called for investment in the infrastructure and market systems required to make the country’s horticulture industry more competitive.
He said stronger connections were needed between production, aggregation, processing, logistics and markets, supported by financing, standards, skills and technology.
Mr. Tanoh cited the Netherlands and Kenya as examples of countries that had successfully developed their horticultural industries.
He disclosed that plans were underway under the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme to establish a cut-flower corridor along the Daboya-Singa pathway.
The corridor, he said, would link production to the Tamale Air Cargo Hub and international markets, creating opportunities for the expansion of Ghana’s floriculture industry.
The Chief Executive Officer of Stratcomm Africa and Convener of the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement, Esther A. N. Cobbah, said Ghana had the resources required to develop a thriving horticulture and floriculture industry.
“We have soil, we have sunshine, we have water, we have plants; therefore, we have business and we have jobs,” she said.
Madam Cobbah urged Ghanaians to look beyond the aesthetic value of the country’s natural environment and recognise its potential to generate businesses, employment and economic opportunities.
By Vera Owusu Sarpong