B-Poly initiates steps to tackle post harvest losses

Story and Pix: Benjamin Xornam Glover Agriculture in Ghana in general and Upper East Region in particular is faced with a lot of challenges, which seriously limit food production capacity. Post-harvest loses, due largely to the absence of viable storage and processing facilities, are some of these challenges which have impoverished farmers and dampened their enthusiasm for farming. To address this challenges, the Bolgatanga Polytechnic in the Upper East Region has taken a thoughtful approach to minimize post-harvest loses and make for food availability all-year-round. The Rector of Bolgatanga Polytechnic, Dr. Mba Atinga who disclosed this during an interaction with Managing Director of Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL), Mr Kenneth Ashigbey said the institution is sourcing for funds to activate the project. Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, who was accompanied by the General Manager, Newspapers, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, and the Zonal Manager for the three northern regions, Madam Memunatu Mahama, was on a working visit to the region. Dr Atinga said although people are producing foods a lot more are lost because we do not have the facilities to preserve and store them and it was to address some of these challenges that the polytechnic was designing such as programme to help find solutions to such problems. “We are concern about the lives of our people. We want to teach our people how to preserve our crops building on traditional knowledge,” he said. He added that the polytechnic is also looking various ways at promoting local dishes, such as dawadawa, water melon etc which he said were gradually "vanishing" from many homes in Ghana. Mr Ashigbey lauded the Management of B-Poly for the interventions being put in place which he said will go a long of developing people through research and suggested to them to partner media institutions to make those research findings available to the public by getting aspects of them published in simple languages to touch and improve the lives of the people and contribute towards the development of the nation. “We at Graphic are ready to avail our platforms to you and by working closely with our journalists, we can report on some of your research findings conducted periodically by students and lecturers in the various fields to benefit our people,” Mr Ashigbey said. -End- Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh