The government has been urged to scale up its investment in the production of soybeans, especially in the Northern Region, as it has the potential to drive economic growth.Apart from soybeans having the potential of driving economic growth, a former Head, Forest and Horticultural Crops Research Centre, Kade, Professor Samuel Adjei-Nsiah, said that it also had the potential to create employment and enhance food security.Prof.
Samuel Adjei-Nsiah addressing the gathering Photo: Victor A.
BuxtonProf.
Adjei-Nsiah also stated that this at an inaugural lecture at the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, on Thursday, on the topic, "Bean there, Done that: Unleashing the Potential of Soybean in Contributing to Poverty Reduction in the Northern Region."He bemoaned the challenges that soybeans farmers faced due to low soil fertility, climate variability, limited adoption yield-enhancing technologies, and limited access to mechanisation services, which had accounted to the low production of soybeans in the Northern Region.Additionally, he again expressed concern about the quantity of soybeans that were exported from Ghana to other countries, both official and unofficially, through the porous nature of the country's boarders."In 2023 alone, about 47,230 metric tonnes of soybeans was exported to five countries, namely, the United States of America, India, Turkey, Canada, and Singapore, through official channels, while about twice of the figure was exported through unofficial channels," Prof.
