India and Ghana have strengthened agricultural cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, and the Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI), Accra, Ghana. The five-year agreement provides a framework for cooperation in joint agricultural research, scientific and technological exchange, capacity building, and application and commercialization of agricultural technologies.
The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, and H.E. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana, representing both nations' commitment to South-South and India-Africa collaboration.
The initial phase of cooperation will focus specifically on vegetable crop research with particular emphasis on tomato research and development. ICAR will support the scaling up of proven agricultural technologies and introduce suitable high-yielding tomato lines and varieties to strengthen domestic tomato production in Ghana. The partnership will also concentrate on processing and value addition of cassava, yam and other tuber crops with the objective of strengthening agricultural value chains.
Additional cooperation areas include post-harvest management, featuring technical support and capacity building in cold storage, refrigerated transportation, sorting, grading and processing technologies aimed at addressing post-harvest losses. The MoU provides for exchange of scientists and technologists, germplasm and breeding materials, scientific information, methodologies and technical knowledge, alongside development and implementation of collaborative research projects.
Arima Farms Ltd., Ghana has been recognized as the commercial partner to CSIR-CRI for specific research and commercialization activities under the framework. Implementation will be overseen by a Joint Working Group comprising representatives of ICAR and CSIR-CRI, which will review progress and guide implementation through periodic meetings in New Delhi and Accra. The collaboration aims to strengthen linkages between agricultural research, technology development, capacity building and commercial application, facilitating adoption of relevant agricultural technologies and contributing to sustainable agricultural development and improved livelihoods in Ghana.