India and Ghana exchanged two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Accra, strengthening cooperation in agricultural research, scientific research, academics and capacity building.
The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Jaishankar and Ghana's Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa during the first leg of the External Affairs Minister's three-nation visit to Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Ethiopia from October 6 to 10.
One agreement was signed between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Ghana's CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI). The five-year agreement provides for joint agricultural research, scientific and technological exchanges, capacity building, technology transfer and commercialisation of agricultural technologies.
The initial phase will focus on vegetable crop research, particularly tomatoes. ICAR will support the scaling up of agricultural technologies and the introduction of suitable high-yielding tomato lines and varieties to strengthen tomato production in Ghana.
The agreement also covers processing and value addition of cassava, yam and other tuber crops. Cooperation will extend to post-harvest management, including cold storage, refrigerated transportation, sorting, grading and processing, with the aim of reducing post-harvest losses.
The MoU provides for the exchange of scientists and technologists, germplasm and breeding materials, scientific information, methodologies and technical knowledge. It also allows the two countries to develop and implement joint research projects and establish institutional links between relevant research centres.
A Joint Working Group comprising representatives of ICAR and CSIR-CRI will oversee the partnership and review its progress periodically in New Delhi and Accra. Ghana-based Arima Farms Ltd has been recognised as the commercial partner to CSIR-CRI for specified research and commercialisation activities.
The second MoU was exchanged between the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the University of Ghana for cooperation in academics, scientific research and capacity building.
The partnership will cover biodiversity research, conservation, environmental studies and genetics. Areas identified for collaboration include biodiversity monitoring, conservation genomics, wildlife health and One Health, with joint research programmes, scientist and young researcher exchanges, field and laboratory studies and training also envisaged.
The agreements followed discussions between Jaishankar and Ablakwa on strengthening the India-Ghana Comprehensive Partnership. Their talks covered trade, investment, development cooperation, pharmaceuticals, capacity building, defence, technology and people-to-people ties. The ministers also discussed India's engagement with the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.
The two MoUs form part of India's wider effort to expand scientific, agricultural and capacity-building partnerships with countries in the Global South.
