By Austin Agyenim Boateng
Ghana suffers a 14 per cent loss of its maize crop each year due to post-harvest challenges, primarily stemming from technological gaps.
According to the Bono Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Dennis Abugiri Amenga, who revealed this, 13 per cent of rice and over 40 per cent of mangoes are also lost annually under similar conditions.
These revelations were made during the launch of the Post-Harvest Mechanized Training Programme at the Wenchi Agricultural College.
The six-week training programme is designed to equip 500 university graduates with agricultural backgrounds with post-harvest management skills.
Speaking at the launch of the Programme, the Bono Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Dennis Abugiri Amenga emphasized the programme’s importance due to the alarming rate of post-harvest losses in Ghana.
He illustrated this point with the revelation that Ghana loses 14 per cent of its maize harvests annually, while 13 per cent of rice and over 40 per cent of mangoes are also lost due to “technological deficiencies”.
Mr. Amenga pointed out that the situation is even more dire for other crops, such as rice, tomatoes, and pepper. He underscored the necessity of effective post-harvest management to reduce losses, enhance food security, and improve the livelihoods of farmers.
Additionally, he praised the World Food Programme and its donor partners for their support in this initiative.
He was optimistic the training would lead to significant improvement in Ghana’s post-harvest agricultural practices.
More than 7,000 trainees are expected to benefit from the Training which includes repair and maintenance of agricultural machinery at the Wenchi Agricultural College.
