Despite their significance, Agri-Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have not gained much momentum in Ghana because the Public-Private Partnership Act, 2020 (Act 1039) (PPP Act) focuses more on promoting investor confidence in the infrastructure sector of the economy. As a result, the agriculture sector has not fully benefited from such partnerships.
PPPs are important for advancing agriculture to meet the current global challenges in food security because through these partnerships, farmers are able to widen access to technology as well as ready markets for their produce.
Agri-PPPs include Partnerships that aim to develop agricultural value chains, collaborations for joint agricultural research, innovation, and technology transfer. They also include partnerships for building and upgrading market infrastructure, and for the delivery of business development services to farmers and small enterprises.
This calls for concerted efforts to increase collaborations between the private and public sector players across the agriculture value chain.
CSIR Governing Board Tasked to Strengthen Collaborations
To bridge the PPPs gap in the agriculture sector, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) inaugurated a governing board to strengthen the Collaborations with Government and private sector agencies.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, during the inaugural ceremony, assured the Council that MoFA would ensure the economic capabilities of CSIR research findings become more prominent through the setting up of a Marketing Unit for the Council. According to him, the Marketing Unit would be tasked to swiftly carry out any research findings which has to do with commercialization to the private sector for partnership.
At the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Afriyie detailed that over the years, the Council has supported the collection, characterization, and preservation of indigenous germplasm for conservation, utilization, and improvement of crops which have contributed immensely to national development.
Dr. Afriyie added that CSIR has chalked successes in coming up with technologies in crop and animal production, agro-processing and value addition, building and road construction, environmental management, and industrial manufacturing.
The government’s flagship agricultural campaign, the Planting for Food and Jobs, under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), was able to produce more grains which were fashioned from the laboratory of CSIR .
Dr. Afriye
Benefits of Agri-PPPs
In agriculture, Private-Public Partnerships (PPPs) have the potential to make real positive impacts. Agri-PPPs have the potential to modernize the agriculture sector and deliver benefits that can contribute to inclusive and sustainable agricultural development.
The 2030 sustainable goals clearly define the need for more constructive collaboration between public policy, the private sector, research, science, and education for all sectors including agriculture.
In a country where most of the rural farmers remain poor, strengthening partnerships between the private and public sectors in the agriculture space remain key in the country’s efforts to reduce poverty since a majority of Ghana’s population relies on farming for survival.
Possible partners aside from the Council include universities, public extension agencies, producer associations, businesses, and individual producers in the private sector. Against the background of the government not having adequate resources, innovative partnerships in the agriculture space will help improve productivity and drive growth in the agriculture and food sectors in Ghana.
PPPs have contrasting but complementary advantages, that when used together, can lead to great achievements in the agriculture space, thus, increasing innovation and growth in the agriculture sector. Public-Private Sector Public-Private Sector Public-Private Sector
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