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About 30 agronomists across the country have undergone training to boost vegetable production in the country.

The training under the auspices of GhanaVeg with support from the Department of Applied Plant Research of Wageningen UR in the Netherlands, is to improve farmer productivity, post-harvest management, advance and professionalize the production of vegetables.

These certified agronomists who have undergone the on-field training on seedling production, crop protection, spray techniques, irrigation and fertilization among others at the Atomic farms on in Accra, are expected to transfer this knowledge to farmer groups in the vegetable sector across the country.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Program Leader at GhanaVeg, Sheila Assibey-Yeboah said the initiative is to promote a competitive sector.

She explained that vegetables are now cash crops which when invested into will generate a lot of income to improve Ghana’s economy.

Their focus on agronomy, Mrs. Assibey-Yeboah explained, is to improve yields and professionalize the sector and address some challenges of the agro-ecosystem that hamper the growth of vegetable crops.

Now that the European Union has lifted the ban on Ghana’s vegetables, she said it poses a lot of responsibility on farmers to ensure they maintain the standard.

The GhanaVeg Deputy Program Leader bemoaned the increase in Ghana’s vegetable imports in spite of the rich soils at our disposal.
Mrs. Assibey-Yeboah was however confident the training of the agronomists will change the status quo.

Also, the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Ron Strikker expressed their commitment to help Ghana commercialize the production of vegetables through the use of technology.

The move when supported, he noted will boost Ghana’s vegetable exports and decrease imports.

Ambassador Ron Strikker charged the agronomists to ensure the knowledge acquired will be impacted positively to the farmers.

He also expressed joy over the European Commission's decision to lift the current ban on the exports of five plant commodities from Ghana to the European Union (EU) market.

The five Ghanaian plants (chilli pepper, bottle gourds, luffa gourds, bitter gourds and eggplants) will from 1 January 2018, have duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market like any other product from Ghana.