By Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, July 9, GNA – Experts have called for stronger collaboration between the media and academia to promote research-driven innovations, particularly in aquaculture and agro-waste management, to enhance food security, reduce post-harvest losses and create employment opportunities for young people.
Dr Christian Larbi Ayisi, Project Lead for Aquaculture Technology under the Nkabom Collaborative of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), said aquaculture offered a practical solution to Ghana’s growing demand for animal protein and broader food security challenges.
“Aquaculture, in its sense, is the panacea to our food security-related issues as far as animal protein is concerned,” he stated.
Dr Ayisi made the remarks at a training programme organised by the Nkabom Collaborative of UESD for about 50 journalists in the Eastern Region.
The programme, held in Koforidua, was on the theme: “Reporting Green Innovation: Strengthening Media Engagement for Sustainable Development.”
He observed that although universities generated valuable research, many findings remained within academic circles and failed to reach the wider public.
“From where we sit as academics, there is a lot we can do. There should be collaboration between the media and academics,” he said.
Dr Ayisi explained that the media could play a critical role in translating research findings into accessible information to promote public understanding and informed decision-making.
“One role the media can play is to amplify the innovations we come up with and the new things we discover through research. The media can help take them to the public and break them down for people to understand what we have done,” he said.
He emphasised that stronger partnerships between journalists and researchers would help ensure that scientific innovations informed public education, policy discussions and sustainable national development.
The Nkabom Collaborative is a partnership involving eight institutions in Ghana, including UESD, and McGill University, Canada, with support from the Mastercard Foundation.
The initiative seeks to create dignified and sustainable employment opportunities for 55,000 Ghanaian youth, particularly young women and other vulnerable groups, through training in agro-waste management, aquaculture technology and entrepreneurship.
Professor Richard Amfo-Otu, Education and Agro-waste Lead for the Nkabom Collaborative at UESD, called for the adoption of innovative agro-waste management technologies to reduce post-harvest losses, protect the environment and expand employment opportunities.
He noted that Ghana generated substantial quantities of agricultural waste, much of which was either burnt or left to decompose without harnessing its economic value.
According to him, adopting a circular economy approach would enable the country to convert agro-waste into commercially viable products while reducing environmental pollution and creating jobs.
Professor Amfo-Otu, who is also Head of the Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Unit at UESD, said the Eastern Region had abundant agro-waste resources, including cassava peels, rice husks, palm kernel shells and palm kernel cake.
He explained that those materials could be processed into fish feed and livestock feed, briquettes for fuel, biochar for energy generation and soil improvement, as well as biogas through biodigestion.
“There are different technologies we can employ to process the available agro-waste so that we can create jobs for the youth,” he stated.
Professor Amfo-Otu said the initiative focused on briquette production, biochar production, paper production and animal feed manufacturing from agro-waste.
He disclosed that UESD was preparing to roll out the interventions to enable young people to take advantage of emerging opportunities within the agro-waste sector.
He added that a degree programme in Agro-waste Technology was undergoing accreditation, while a diploma programme was also under development.
Professor Amfo-Otu expressed concern that Ghana continued to lose more than 40 per cent of its agricultural produce after harvest.
He urged government, development partners and the private sector to invest in innovative technologies that would reduce post-harvest losses, improve agricultural productivity and generate sustainable employment for young people.
GNA
Edited by D.I. Laary/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Emelia B. Addae
Email: [email protected]