The 3rd National Seed Forum under the theme; “Facilitating the Seed Industry through Knowledge, Collaboration and Strategic Planning” was held from November 7th to 10th, 2022 at Tomreik Hotel, East Legon, Accra. The Forum was organized by the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG) in collaboration with the National Seed Council (NSC), The African Seed Access Index (TASAI) and the Feed the Future (FtF) Ghana Policy LINK Activity with support from the Ghana Inclusive Agricultural Transformation (GIAT) Programme of the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) acting through AGRA.
The event brought together Agricultural Sector Stakeholders from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), other Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Research Institutions, Farmer Organizations, Seed Companies, Civil Society Organizations, Development Partners and the Media from across the country to socialize the Seed Regulations and enhance industry players’ knowledge on seed legislation and laid down standards and procedures for churning out quality seeds, provide a platform for industry players to network and be updated on pertinent seed sector issues and strengthen business linkages, share progress made from the 2nd Seed Business and Networking Forum related to the Communique issued at the end of the program, disseminate the findings of the TASAI Ghana Country Report for 2022, develop a Seed Sector Strategy and Investment Plan for Ghana by discussing and validating the proposed recommendations and targeted results to be achieved as informed by the SeedSAT Ghana assessment and cost the Seed Sector Strategy and Investment Plan for Ghana.
The Chairman for the event, Mr. Josiah Wobil, Chairman, National Seed Council in his opening remarks said, “While we all battle with Government to overcome the sudden onslaught of economic constraints, there is the need to facilitate the conduct of the seed industry, to sharpen our focus and apply cogent skills and knowledge that will validly and convincingly respond to a big potential of overall quality seed demand that has hardly been touched.”
Participants having discussed and considered all issues relating to the current status of the seed industry, its opportunities, constraints and aspirations for the future developed a Communique to be presented to the Honorable Minister for Food and Agriculture for adoption. Participants also through group sessions reviewed key areas of the National Seed Plan and Policy and made recommendations to help guide the committee in putting together the Ghana Seed Sector Strategy and Investment Plan. The TASAI team presented a general overview of the Ghana Seed Sector in the TASAI Ghana Country Report 2022 to update participants on the progress made in the Seed Sector over the past year and areas for improvement. At the end of the workshop, an 8 – member committee was established to put together the Ghana Seed Sector Strategy and Investment Plan, which will help chart the course for the Ghanaian Seed Sector when finalized and adopted.
