Private agribusinesses have organized the Fresh Green Ghana Project Knowledge Sharing Conference to deliberate on promoting safe greenhouse production in Ghana.

Speaking at the Conference in Accra, Acting Head of Horticulture Development Unit at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Esther Agyekum revealed that MoFA has funded projects which did not yield expected results, hence the requirements laid out by the ministry to guide horticulturalists.

“Some recommendations from the Delphi report on design specifications with regards to the unit, construction, climate control, temperature management. It is worth to note that our need for greenhouse farming is very different from the very temperate regions. Sometimes sitting at the horticultural desk, I am saddened by how much people invest in structures that do not deliver,” she said.

According to her, these need to be met by horticulturalists to gain funds from the ministry to promote greenhouse production in Ghana.

The conference was spearheaded by Agri-Impact Consult in collaboration with Safisana, Urban Jungle, Premium Vegetables and Wageningen University and Research in South Africa.

CEO of Agri-Impact Consult, Dan Acquaye shared the experience of his outfit in greenhouse production over the years.

According to him, despite the challenges in the sector, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture cannot be blame because the challenges are natural factors.

“The issue of humidity and temperature is still a major concern to greenhouse producers in Ghana. Hence, we design projects in Ghana to track temperature and humidity considering temperatures outside the greenhouse, inside the greenhouse and produce-in-transit,” he stated. 

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Okyere, Agriprineurship Development Manager at Agri-Impact Consult expressed optimism for the future of greenhouse production in Ghana.

“The future is very big. This is because it is going to ensure that we get vegetables all year round, avoid unnecessary spike in prices and create job opportunities for the youth. Greenhouse farming also produces healthy vegetables and will reduce the importation of vegetables,” he indicated.