• The Deputy Director- General of CSIR is advising the youth to venture into snail farming since the business is profitable.
• There is a market for snails both locally and internationally due to its delicacy and medicinal benefits.
• Forty participants including staff of the National Youth Authority, Agricultural Extension Agents and farmers have benefitted from a day’s training in snail farming.

Prof Paul Bosu, the Deputy Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has urged the youth to consider snail farming as an avenue for generating income.

He explained that, starting a snail farming business requires less capital and education; the interest to learn, invest and market the business.

Prof. Bosu spoke at a training session held for farmers, agriculture extension officers and players within the agribusiness industry.

The training was organised by CSIR in collaboration with the Modernising Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) programme at CSIR-Plant Genetics Resources Research Institute, Bunsu in the Eastern Region.

The Deputy Director-General further urged the youth to be optimistic in starting the business adding that, it has significant outcomes.

Some of the participants at the workshop, he hinted were beneficiaries of a skills training programme by the National Youth Authority (NYA) in Koforidua.

“Explore and apply yourselves to some of these things and you may never know, this thing may lead you to your dream”, he said. 

With respect to the inclusion of snails in diets, Prof. Bosu said, it is rich in protein, iron, calcium and low in fat which are needed by the body and noted, the consumption of snails has been on high demand.

He attributed the high consumption of snails in recent times to the realisation of the essence of eating healthy diets by many Ghanaians.

Mrs. Mary Appiah, a senior marketing officer at the CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG) urged the participants to keep basic marketing practices including the need to promote the sale of their snails with effective communication and the willingness to negotiate with their customers should there be any loss.  

The topics treated at the training were; getting started with snail farming, breeding and diseases and pests management.

Meanwhile, over the past three years, CSIR has trained about 1,500 farmers and agricultural extension officers throughout the country.

MAG is a five-year initiative programme funded by the Canadian government that focuses attention on demand driven research and alternative methods of extension delivery with the objective of increasing productivity through intensive farming. MAG provides budgetary support to the Agricultural Research Institutes within CSIR. 

CSIR was established in 1958 and currently has thirteen research institutes, a Head Office and over fifty Research Centres, Units and Field Stations

Prof. Paul Bosu (5^th from right) the Deputy Director-General of CSIR with other participants in a group photograph.  

Source: Corporate Affairs Division, CSIR

• A number of local plant breeders and research scientists have had to deal with ownership rights of their breeds from people who ‘steal’ their works without acknowledgment.

• Local Plant Breeders will soon have no cause to worry as CSIR has commenced advocacy for the implementation of the PVP system.

• The PVP system is a law that seeks to protect the intellectual property rights of breeders of new varieties of plants.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is advocating for the implementation of the Plant Variety (PVP) System to protect the intellectual property (IP) rights of local plant breeders.

The PVP system is a law that seeks to protect the intellectual property rights of breeders of new varieties of plants. 

A number of local plant breeders and research scientists have had to deal with ownership rights of their breeds from people who ‘steal’ their works without acknowledgment, hence the move by CSIR to conduct this workshop to deepen the understanding and implementation of the PVP system.

At the opening session of a two-day workshop organised by CSIR with support from CORAF-Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development (PAIRED) Project and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Prof. Paul Bosu, the Deputy Director-General of CSIR, expressed delight at the support from CORAF for Ghana and five other countries (Benin, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal) within the sub-region.

He added that, the workshop has become necessary to help plant breeders understand the need to protect their IP rights.

“It is hoped that through this workshop, a better understanding of the PVP system will be established, awareness will be created and the needed capacity will be built for licensing agreement between research and seed companies”, he averred.

Mrs. Cynthia Asare-Bediako, the Chief Director of MESTI who was also the Chairperson at the workshop assured the participants of pushing the discussion on the PVP system further to protect the rights of local breeders.

She said “intellectual property rights of plant variety gives the breeder the exclusive rights on how to exploit and release the innovation in the most appropriate way for collective use” adding that, since Ghana largely depends on agriculture for economic growth the Ministry will ensure that the PVP system is implemented to the latter.

In his keynote address, Mr. Patrick Ankobiah, the Acting Chief Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) said the PVP system when applied effectively can serve as a tool to encourage the release of new varieties of plants which will also promote food security.

Mr. Abrahamane Dicko, the Regional Coordinator for Agriculture Programme at the USAID Mission West Africa, said one of the benefits of the PVP system was to encourage private investment in plant variety breeding.

CSIR was established in 1958 and currently has thirteen research institutes, a Head Office and over fifty Research Centres, Units and Field Stations

Seated from right: Mr. Abrahamane Dicko, the Regional Coordinator for Agriculture Programme at the USAID Mission West Africa, Prof. Paul Bosu, the Deputy Director General of CSIR, Mrs. Cynthia Asare-Bediako, the Chief Director of MESTI, Mr. Patrick Ankobiah, Acting Chief Director, MoFA, Mrs. Grace Issahaque, Head of IP Ghana/Chief State Attorney, Prof. Hans Adu-Dapaah, Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-Crops Research Institute with other participants. 

Source: Corporate Affairs Division, CSIR