Ghana Identifies Need for Biotech in Agriculture
Biotechnology has been identified as one of the technologies that must be used for the "rapid development" of agriculture in Ghana. Marian Quain and James Asibuo of the Crops Research Institute in Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa, discuss Ghana's initial foray into biotechnology and the challenges that the country is facing in Biotechnology for Agriculture Enhancement in Ghana published in the Biotechnology in Africa edition of Asian Biotechnology and Development Revew.
"One underexploited area in biotechnology in Ghana is the use of in vitro methods for the production of clean planting materials which are in high demand," the authors said. "This system needs the assistance of molecular tools to ensure that the clonal materials that is produced maintain their genetic integrity with the application of fingerprinting techniques."
The CRI scientists note the challenges of fund availability for the rapid development and adaptation of biotechnology tools; policy development, government contribution to science and technology, as well as regional collaboration to aid and promote the technology.
Marian Quain can be reached at marianquain@hotmail.com
This article is part of the Crop Biotech Update, a weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)
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