6 August 2007
editorial
IT IS actually gratifying that in all our political differences and the economic hardships facing the ordinary Ghanaian, the present good governance of the NPP government in terms of economic developments are really being recognised by others.
As the Chinese proverb says that it is better to teach the person how to fish than giving him the fish for his or her stomach, the activities of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and that of the Rockefeller Foundation, is giving the correct impetus to the above Chinese proverb to help the people of Africa in terms of agricultural produce to feed themselves.
For the US$5 million project support grant from AGRA to the University of Ghana, Legon for the establishment of a West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), has come at the right time.
We see the whole scenasio as a great achievement for the University of Ghana to be selected to house WACCI because of its outstanding resources coupled with its innovative approaches in teaching and research in the areas of plant breeding, genetics and biotechnology, and this should be a plus to our premier University.
Being geared towards the improvement of the livelihood of millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa, the University of Ghana has a task that they should not shirk away from. But wim th that glossy credentials from WACCI, this paper believes that Legon will stand up to the task and corroborate with WACCI to develop plant breeders with the capacity to lead the conversion of genetic and molecular discoveries into innovative solutions that could result in improved varieties to benefit agriculture in West Africa.
We would advice the University also to collaborate with some of the local institutions like the Ministry of Agriculture, The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) at Akyem Tafo and the Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, to bring into fruition this noble project to help to alleviate the food plights of peoples in West Africa.
The Chronicle is saying that this WACCI project has come at a good time when the government has instituted a pilot project to promote root and tuber production and marketing in 14 Municipalities and Districts of six Regions of the country. And once again, there was collaboration from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and Ghana's Ministry of Agriculture.
It is at the result of these concerns of government to create the enabling environments to feed the people that we will entreat the University not to fail the nation. The University has made all of us proud but the task ahead of them is enormous and The Chronicle knows that the calibre of people led by the Vice Chancellor, could never let the country down.
We need to eat and if we are being helped, we should be very conscious of how the money voted for the project would be used. Currently, the country is about to face a serious food shortage in the Northern parts of our country and this is where our agricultural institutions and the Universities are needed most. However, we say, kudos to Legon.
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