Ghana is expected to establish a Ghana Innovation and Research Centre by year end to commercialise research.

The Centre is expected to will help the country identify which research will support and promote developmental projects or flagship projects that government plans to execute.

Deputy Minister for Environment, Science and Innovation, Patricia Appiagyei, believes it will propel new ways of approaching developmental challenges through research.

The Centre will serve as a commercialisation centre, where we can identify the right findings and new ways of doing things which can be applied to enhance development.

Individuals and young researchers, for instance, can deposit and register their works at the centre where it can be accessed and applied.

The minister says it will also help take stock of all the findings and research are done and developed from various fields.

“Because people finish school and they come up with project very innovative ways of doing things but they don’t know where to start so if you deposit it and register it at the centre and then it can be applied,” Patricia Appiagyei.

Mrs Appiagyei says this move will enable the private sector to take advantage of research to establish industries that will thrive.

Private individuals as part of the initiative will be encouraged to access these research to ensure that it can be applied to Ghana's industrialisation drive.

“So for the industries to thrive, we need all these things. A private entrepreneur can buy these works for their businesses and the person (researcher) will benefit from it,” she said.

A draft framework of the initiative has been completed awaiting funds to construct the physical infrastructure.

Presidential Advisory Council

The Environment, Science and Innovation Ministry is in the process to set-up a presidential advisory council to enhance the implementation of government projects.

The council will ensure that the element of science, technology and some innovation to improve and support government flagship programmes, especially production under the planting for food and jobs.

Patricia Appiagyei told Luv Biz that when established, it can boost Ghana’s export in the selected crops under the planting for food and jobs initiative.

She says the council will advise the president to ensure that each of the flagship programs requires some science, innovation and technology to improve on whatever we want to achieve.

“Like the planting for food and jobs, we have the food research centres, the crop research centres, they have all kinds of high yielding varieties and seedlings and they can be applied.

"If right from day one, we have identified these things, I know by now even though we are experiencing bumper harvest, we would have tripled for us to even engage in export and processing of these crops,” she said.

She revealed this to Luv Biz on the sidelines on an anti-corruption campaign and sensitisation programme in the Asokwa Municipal Assembly.

It brought together various stakeholders in the newly created districts and state institutions like the National Commission on Civic Education.