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Private-public partnership needed to scale up scientific innovations—Dr Afriyie

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Dr Kwaku Afriyie, has called for effective partnership between state agencies and the private sector to scale-up scientific innovations, to advance the country’s economic growth.

Such partnerships, he explained, was also necessary to make innovations commercially viable and profitable for the country at large.

As the Minister in-charge of the sector, he said, he was focused on bridging the gap between industry, commerce and the scientific community by 2024, to spur industrial growth in Ghana.

The Minister was speaking on Wednesday at an Open Day and Exhibition for agencies under MESTI, as part of the celebration of this year’s Civil Service Week Celebration.

It is being held under the theme “Economic Transformation amid COVID-19 Pandemic: The Responsibilities of an Adaptive Civil Service.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food Research Institute and Animal Research Institute, both under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute and others were on hand to display their products.

The Open Day and Exhibition was to enable the agencies under MESTI display their innovative products and achievements within the past few years.

Dr Afriyie noted that, it was imperative that Ghana and the world were aware of the scientific capabilities of the agencies, and its readiness for partnerships to expand and profit from the innovations.

He, therefore, charged civil servants to remain politically neutral in designing policies and programmes that would enhance, and support innovations developed by agencies.

“The Civil Service plays a critical role in governance. It is the link between policy makers and agencies. It is important it functions neutrally to be able to carry out government’s programmes and policies,” the Minister stated.

The government, he stated, was committed to providing the needed support to agencies, and partners for them to take advantage of possibilities in the scientific environment to help Ghana’s development agenda.

The EPA showcased the air quality analyser equipment used in monitoring the quality of air, drones for monitoring mining and concession areas and metalyser for checking water quality and detects metals and other minerals in water.

While the Food Research Institute displayed processed natural food items, including groundnut paste, banku, and fufu, the Animal Research Institute exhibited multi-nutrient feed for animals as well as some items used in mitigating foul stench in animal farms.

The Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute displayed newly born animals in stock and how their procreation was controlled.

 BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS

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