Shani Cooper – Israeli Ambassador to Ghana,
Eighteen Israeli Companies mostly in the Agribusiness sector have held an exhibition in Accra on the theme: “Ghana Grows with Israel,” (GHrow-IL) to expose Ghanaian stakeholders to the Israeli Agricultural Technology space.
The exhibition forms part of major summit organized under the Agricultural Technology and Innovation (Agrictech 2019) by the Trade and Economic Mission of Israel in Ghana and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with other local partners.
Mr Cyril Heymann, Chief Executive Officer, Masem Foundation, an Israeli Company, said the exhibition and summit was an initiative born out of a deep conviction that Africa can grow enough food to feed itself, feed the world and earn billions by unlocking the potentials of its agriculture through innovative technologies, policies and youth agriprenuership.
He described the exhibition and summit as beyond Ghana as it was a defining moment in history for food security of the world, stressing that by 2050 the world’s population would be close to ten billion, which experts say food production would have to increase by 70 per cent to feed that many people.
Mr Heymann stressed that gracefully we have Africa sitting on about 70 per cent of the world’s arable lands. This cannot be an accident. It is to say that God has ordained and expects Africa to feed the future.
He said it was unacceptable for Africa to be spending $35 billion annually importing food to feed its 1.2 million people, 60 per cent of whom were farmers while a small nation like Israel with a population of just about seven million was a global food powerhouse that earned billions from exporting food and Agritech.
“It has happened before in biblical times when the wisdom of a Jew named Joseph (in Egypt, Africa) fed the world. Today, Israel is positioned and ready to help Africa feed the future through knowledge sharing and commercialization of its advanced innovative technologies,” he said.
Mr Heymann said “we don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we can model what Israel has done in the desert, in Africa with fertile land. That is why we conceptualized the Agritech 2019 summit and exhibition in Ghana”.
He said the initiative in Ghana, marks the beginning of a great movement, “What Jacob said to his sons in Genesis Chapter 42 verse 2… I have heard there is grain in Egypt (Africa). Go down and buy some, so we won’t starve to death… shall soon be true of Africa echoed by leaders of nations of distant places, a period of great prosperity for Africa”.
Mrs Ayelet Levin-Karp, Head of Israeli Trade and Economic Mission in Ghana explained that while the world population was growing, modern agriculture was facing a great challenge of how to grow more with less.
This was especially difficult since farmers were also greatly affected by the different climate change manifestation making the traditional ways of farming less and less effective.
She said throughout the years, Israel had grown to be a global powerhouse in agriculture, having turned its deserts into green and productive farmlands.
Mrs Levin-Karp said several key agricultural innovations in the areas of irrigation, greenhouse, dairy farming, improved seeds among others were pioneered and developed in Israel.
“These technologies and others are used around the world to revolutionize food production, and enabling farms around the world to grow more with less at varied and sometime harsh conditions,” she said.
She said the Israeli companies participating in the summit and exhibition were targeting the Ghanaian market and looking for good business partners to grow with.
Source: GNA
