Story by Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Resident Representative in Ghana, Dr. Angela Lusigi, has reechoed that agriculture remains a key driver of Ghana’s economy.
According to her, agriculture remains a key driver of Ghana’s economy not only because it contributes significantly to export earnings but also as a major input into the manufacturing sector.
Speaking in an interview with GBC Online after the lively timXAccra event held in Accra, Dr. Lusigi explained that even though the agricultural sector isn’t sexy to work in, it employs over fifty percent of Ghana’s population.
Data available shows that only 50% of Ghana’s estimated 13.5 million hectares of land is currently under cultivation.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana believes that Agritech holds the key to unlocking the tremendous untapped opportunity for young Ghanaian tech innovators.
Dr. Lusigi, therefore, called on young innovators to seize the tremendous and untapped opportunity emerging from Agritech and venture into agriculture.
“Let’s be honest, agriculture is not sexy. That is why Agritech is what is really going to transform the agricultural sector.
We at the UNDP believe that Agritech not only has the power to support Ghana’s development but it is also an important vehicle to leverage the benefits that the Africa Free Trade Continental Area with its headquarters in Accra brings,” Dr. Lusigi stated.
She explained that the 8 Timbuktu hub initiatives, which are: Fintech, Agritech, Healthtech, Greentech, Creatives, Tradetech and Logistics, Smart Cities and Mobility, and Tourismtech in 8 different African countries, represent a tremendous opportunity for key ecosystem players.
“Because the Agritech hub will be hosted by Ghana, what it means is that Ghanaians will still have the opportunity to assess the other seven hubs and be able to grow their businesses as pan-African businesses.
“This initiative is uniquely designed to do one thing, to mobilise public and private partnerships that will transform the opportunities for Ghana’s youth and also those across Africa.
“We would like to see world-class entrepreneurs, innovators, and problem-solvers, thus there is the need to massively scale up the support of the integrated ecosystem for innovation in Ghana and across Africa.
We are proud to work hand in hand with the private sector to embrace a bold new reality in which the future is driven by technology and innovation. Only exceptional achievements made by ambitious and talented young people supported by a vibrant ecosystem will move the needle in Africa and enable us to truly achieve our SDG targets,” Dr. Lusigi stated.
Timbuktoo is a new approach for UNDP in line with its vision of a future-smart Africa that transcends old development paradigms.