Two founding Directors of the Water and Crop Research Institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr. Leticia Obeng and Dr. William Agbele, say the country would have been hit by severe food and water crisis, if not for the work of the Scientists Council.
They said with the improved crop varities and control of diseases affecting crops, food production has increased and malnutrition addressed.
This according to them, the Council’s contribution to the development of the industries.
Dr. Leticia Obeng and Dr. William Agbele at a fund raising event for the CSIR called on corporate and private institutions to support the work of the Council.
They touted the achievements of the CSIR such as numerous improved crops and animal production, tools for industry as well as addressing environmental issues.
The obvious intervention in the past two decades in the food industry is the production of powdered products that have made food preparation for working women easier.
The private sector has taken over this production but when the Council organised a fundraising event to fund its 60th anniversary, only four of the 60 institutions honoured the invitation.
That notwithstanding, Dr. Leticia Obeng and Dr. William Agbele, founding directors of two institutes of the council noted that the CSIR has a future if well resourced.
The Board Chairman of the Council, Professor Kingsford Adaboh, entreated government to live up to its promise of contributing one-percent of the country’s GDP to science and technology.
Representatives of the institutions at the event, National Investment Bank, Ghana Cocoa Board, National Communication Authority and Electroland pledged their support for the CSIR.
Story By: Joyce Gyekyi
