The Ghana Institute of Horticulturists (GhIH) has held its 22nd Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference at the University of Ghana, Legon, in Accra with a call on Ghanaians to help stop illegal mining, popularly known as “galamsey”.

The two-day event, which was under the theme, “Strategically Positioning Horticulture to Enhance Environmental Health and Food Safety in Ghana” brought together researchers, academics, and other key industry players including the Ministry of Agriculture and saw the discussion of important issues of national concern.

In a speech read on her behalf, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, said illegal mining activities had exposed food produce to a high risk of contamination through the use of polluted irrigation water by farmers. She added that illegal mining activities, also negatively affected the quality of the environment as it had led to the destruction of large hectares of forest and pollution of water bodies in the country.

She intimated that the expansion of the horticultural industry had the tendency to create huge jobs across the entire horticultural value chain, namely input supply, production, processing, transportation, storage, as well as marketing. She listed some of the non-traditional export crops that were significant for employment in the horticultural industry to include shea nuts, mango, cashew, herbal and medicinal plants, while other crops with potential for generating employment include high-value vegetables and cut flowers.

The mantle of leadership of the Ghana Institute of Horticulturalist lies on the shoulders of the University for Development Studies’, Prof. Halim Abubakari of the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Sciences as President. He is supported by Mr. Philip Quaye of the University of Ghana, Dr. Mohammed Dawuda Mujitaba also of UDS, and Antoinette Amegbletor of the Aburi Botanical Gardens as Vice-president, Secretary and Treasurer, respectively.

In his Speech, the President of the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists, Prof. Halim Abubakari, said the Institute over the years had contributed scientifically and professionally to the growth of the horticultural industry in Ghana. Horticulture, he said, played a huge role in sustaining environmental health and food safety globally.

“The horticultural industry has a wide range of benefits, including its contributions to a country’s GDP, and employment, among others, and the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists is privileged to have been a key stakeholder in championing this course,” he said.

The objectives of the institute, he stated, included securing the maintenance of professional standards and the advancement of horticulture in Ghana; encouraging the publication of books, periodicals and journals on horticulture; promoting research in all aspects of horticulture.

It is also to facilitate the dissemination and exchange of information and ideas relating to or concerning Horticulture and seeking the professional welfare of its members.

Story by:
Abdul Hayi Moomen
(University Relations)