Mr Jonas Berchie, Director of Animal Production Directorate, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), has called for collaboration among stakeholders within the livestock value chain, including academia to address challenges facing the sector.
He said over the years the sector had grappled with many challenges ranging from inefficiency from farmers due to lack of skills, to unavailable ready market.
Speaking at a workshop for some sector players in Accra, Mr Berchie said the sector remained an important contributor to Ghana’s Gross Domestic Products and must, therefore, not be ignored.
“The sector is important not only for those directly engaged in the production and processing of animal products, but also for many other actors along the value chain,” he said.
The workshop, organised by the Dalum Academy of Denmark and their partners in Ghana, the Global Farming and Technology Institute, was aimed at understanding the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) ecosystem within the livestock value chain.
Also, it was aimed at identifying key areas for a possible Ghanaian-Danish partnership, especially within the livestock value chain.
It was on the theme: “Enhancing Skills and Innovations in the Livestock Value Chain: Exploring TVET opportunities for Sustainable Growth”.
Mr Berchie said, in 2020, the livestock sector contributed a total of 8.31 per cent to Ghana’s agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP), indicating that the sector had a massive potential and the capacity to alleviate poverty.
He said a skilled workforce was crucial for the development of the livestock value chain, stressing that enhancing Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) that equipped young people with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to mine out the potential of the sector was important.
“It is key in propelling economic activities embedded in livestock production, processing, husbandry and veterinary services, transportation, equipment repairs, and maintenance,” he added.
To achieve that, Mr Berchie said the government had made significant strides in improving the TVET in the country, over the past eight years.
Since 2017, the Director said, government had spent over GH¢6 billion in building new TVET infrastructure and expanding existing ones.
“Through the Commission of Technical and Vocational Educational Training (CTVET), more apprenticeship programmes have been rolled out attracting over 100,000 students,” he added.
Again, he said, the Animal Production Directorate of MoFA, the institution mandated to develop, promote and sustain livestock production for food security, and employment creation through research, and effective technical support, had seven Livestock Stations scattered across the country and were ready to partner with any institution to promote TVET.
These stations are in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Oti, Bono East, Northern and Upper West regions.
Mr Kwame Brefo Koduah, Founder, Global Farming and Technology Institute, identified lack of financial support for the livestock sector as major challenge retarding its growth.
“If a livestock farmer is going for a loan, because the risk is high, the loan interest is also high.
When it comes to pig or poultry production, because the feed is not produced here – about 70 per cent of the ingredients are imported coupled with the running dollar, it means that the survival risk of the poultry is high,” he explained.
He called on the government to address the depreciating Cedi to reduce the burden on farmers, especially poultry farmers.
Mr Carsten Friis Poulsen, Head of International Division, Dalum Academy and Agriexcellence Academy, said the increasing complexity of agricultural production, especially in the livestock sector, called for improved education at all levels.
He pledged practical education support to Ghanaian farmers to enhance their skills and enable them to improve their yield.
Mr Tom Norring, Danish Ambassador to Ghana, lauded the partnership between the two institutes.
