Minister suggests ways to increase agricultural production

Ohawu, (V/R), Nov. 4, GNA - Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has suggested that Agricultural Training Institutions synchronise theory and practical lessons harmoniously to increase skills in agricultural production.

He said the trend whereby agricultural training had been less technical with greater emphasis on theory than practical work could pose challenges to trainees when dealing with farmers with several years of fieldwork experience.

Major Quashigah said this in a speech read for him on the opening day of the 22nd Annual Games, Conference and Exhibition of the Agricultural Colleges Students Union of Ghana (ACSU) at Ohawu, in the Ketu District on Tuesday.

It was under the theme: "Vocationalisation of Agriculture through Effective Agricultural Education; The Way Forward to Ghana's Agricultural Development".

The Colleges are Ohawu, Damango, Kwadaso, Ejura and the Pong-Tamale Veterinary College.

Major Quashigah said the edict applied to vocational training to learn "to do by doing" and not learning to do by merely describing or explaining was relevant to agricultural training.

"I therefore, strongly feel that in the vocationalisation of agriculture, there should be little room for lectures and more of laboratory and fieldwork", the Minister stated.

He hinted that he was contemplating "making it a rule that, all my frontline staff in the Ministry should at least be engaged in one farm enterprise or the other to give practical meaning of being involved fully in agriculture."

Major Quashigah, however, expressed the hope that this would not be abused by spending time on his own farm than assisting the farmer. He said the practical implications for the Agricultural colleges would be that tutors must be given the opportunity to acquire practical experience and viable projects and production units must be set up to provide for use by trainees.

Dr Eben Nortey Banor, Director, Human Resource Department of MOFA announced that 500 graduates from the colleges would be employed as Technical Officers and Extension officers in two batches to improve the current farmer extension officer ratio of 1-1,250 with the approval of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

He also hinted that MOFA was in the process of upgrading the colleges into tertiary institutions and that presently the Accreditation Board was reviewing prerequisites before the programme was implemented. Dr Barnor was reacting to concerns of Mr Daniel Mac-Lomotey, acting President ACSU in his annual report.

Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Deputy Volta Regional Minister said the government would rehabilitate the network of feeder roads leading to the Ohawu Agricultural College and also improve its access to potable water. 04 Nov. 03