Post Office Box M32, Ministries
Agostinho Neto Road, Council Close, Airport Residential Area, Accra - Ghana
+233-302-777651-4
info@csir.org.gh
May 17, 2022
CSIR Latest News (103)
Press statement on the need for Government to prioritize Science and Technology in 2022
March 15, 2022
By: Alliance for Science Ghana
As 2022 progresses, the team Alliance for Science Ghana extends happy new year wishes to all Ghanaians. 2021 was a difficult “food year” for many. Food prices rose so quickly in ways this nation hadn’t seen in a long time.
Data from the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate of the Ministry for Food and Agriculture (MOFA) did put this concern in perspective.
Between January and October 2021, the average price of maize rose by 56%, the price of plantain rose by 74%, the price of tomato rose by 44%, the price of yam rose by 20%, and the price of fresh pepper rose by 54%.
By: Ghana Web
New Coronavirus variants detected across the world OMICRON cases detected in Ghana
Govt urged to invest in innovations for wealth-creation
As more and more new variants of the novel Coronavirus are discovered across the world, with reported cases of the pandemic too on the ascendency, a Ghanaian nano-scientist has invented an innovative way of detecting the virus, and categorising them.
The virus tracking device by Dr. Eric Ashalley, who works with the Institute of Industrial Research (IIR) under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), brings testing diagnosis to the doorstep of everyone, reports asaaseradio.com.
“The device can categorise and detect virus. When it comes to the COVID-19 viruses, it can tell you which variant one is infected with,” he told Asaase Radio in an interview.
By: Ghana Web
Ghana is progressing steadily with the introduction of Genetically Modified Cowpea. Known locally as beans, scientists at the Agricultural Research Institute at Nyankpala in the Savannah Region, have completed work on a technology to address the huge pest infestation of the crop.
A dossier to that effect has been gazetted by the National Biosafety Authority. The document contains a request by the Researchers to environmentally release and market the beans.
Farmers in Bongo-Nyariga introduce two new rice varieties
March 15, 2022
By GNA
Two new early maturing and climate-smart rice varieties have been introduced to rice farmers at Nyariga, a community in the Bongo District of the Upper East region.
The AGRA and Banse rice varieties are high-yielding and pest tolerant.
The farmers were also introduced to the best agronomic practices, including seed selection, transplanting, fertilizer application, pest control, and harvesting, among others.
The Savannah Agriculture Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIRSARI) developed and released the varieties as part of the implementation of the Integrated Pest Management Using Rice Varieties and Good Agronomic Practices project.
By Albert Oppong-Ansah
A total of 249,373 hectares of forest reserves and plantations, equivalent to over 600,000 average football pitches, were lost to bush fires between 2011 and 2021, data from the Forestry Commission has indicated.
The fires occurred mainly in Savannah and the transitional zones, which include areas in Sunyani, Juaso, Lawura, Yendi, parts of Upper East, Walewale, Bibiani, Buipe, Begro, Mpraeso, Goaso, and Bole districts.
Scientists said the annual bush fires posed serious threat to the food security of the country if comprehensive steps were not taken to deal with them.
By: Daniel Oduro-Stewart, Contributor
The Bono East regional directorate of the Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Crop Research Institute( CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research( CSIR) has organized a 2-day training of trainers’ workshop for 16 extension officers on disease and pest management in garden eggs, cabbage, pepper, groundnuts, cowpea and soybean in Atebubu.
The exercise which was under the ‘Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana’ program covered all eleven districts in the region and had one groundnut farmer, one garden eggs producer, and the crops officer for the host district also participating.
By Joseph Opoku Gakpo
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has submitted an application to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) requesting for permission to release Ghana’s first GMO crop (PRB cowpea) into the environment.
The request to the NBA which is a government agency under the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology will allow for the CSIR to also place the pod borer resistant (PBR) cowpea or beans on the Ghanaian market.
According to a public notice published in the Ghana Gazette on 18th February 2022, the application is currently undergoing a review process by the NBA, together with relevant regulatory agencies and independent experts.
Ghana: CSIR Governing Board Tasked to Strengthen Collaborations With Government Agencies
February 03, 2022
By Bernard Benghan
The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Dr Kwaku Afriyie, last Friday inaugurated a 21-member governing board of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Accra.
The Board chaired by the government nominee, Prof. Robert Kingsford Adaboh, was tasked to strengthen collaborations with other government agencies that were also doing well in the area of science and technological research in the country.
Dr Afriyie after administering the oath of office and secrecy, said, CSIR was the backbone of the country's scientific research mandated to carry out scientific and technological research for national development.
He said the government's flagship agricultural campaign, the Planting for Food and Jobs, under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), was able to produce more grains which was fashioned from the laboratory of CSIR.
Is Pozzolana cement one of the answers to Ghana’s housing deficit?
February 03, 2022
By: Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
There is a dire housing situation that is akin to a pandemic in Ghana. That’s not in question. Particularly, the situation in urban areas is severe. According to Ghana government estimates, in 2015, population growth would likely add two million extra-urban households in Ghana by 2020. It also assessed the housing shortage before the outbreak of COVID-19 at more than two million units, and approximately 60% of the working population need help to access housing, while 35% will not be in a position to access housing even with intended government subsidy.
A recently published report by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shows that about two out of five of the population of Ghana live in slums. It notes that as of 2017, the proportion of the population living in slums stood at 39.3%, with the figure slightly dropping to 39.2% in 2018, and further declining marginally to 38.9% in 2019.
Farmers double revenue with improved cassava cultivation
February 03, 2022
Farmers in four districts of the Volta Region have doubled their revenue and increased productivity by 61% from the cultivation of improved cassava in three years, a study has revealed.
Each of 187 farmers in the districts of Ho West, Adaklu, Central Tongu, and Ho Municipal who had adopted the improved cassava variety under the “Modernising Agriculture in Ghana project” (MAG), increased their revenue from GH5,040 in 2017 to 10,662 in 2020 averagely.
The study was conducted by the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and disclosed in a MAG dissemination workshop held on December 21, in Accra.
Meanwhile, the non-adopters on average had increased revenue from GH 3,405 in 2017 to 4,702 in 2020.
The MAG project was a five-year initiative introduced in 2017 to provide budgetary and technical support in response to the objectives of food and agricultural sector development policies, productivity, and value chain management issues to increase farmers’ incomes and livelihoods.
More...
Stakeholders in Ghana receive training on UNESCO’s Global Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments
February 03, 2022
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) hosted a national capacity-building workshop in Ghana to support the country in developing policies that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) to ensure that Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) are reflected across all sectors of the economy.
The two-day hybrid workshop held at the Oak Plaza Hotel in Accra forms part of an ongoing project in six African countries (Congo, Ghana, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe) funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to strengthen national and regional STI policies and governance, and institutions in research and innovation in line with the UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers (RS|SR).
STAKEHOLDERS DISCUSS CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLANS
February 03, 2022
By Daniel Amoo
The government has committed to a set of 31 adaptation and mitigation actions in its nationally determined contributions (NDC) to be achieved through its support flagship of “10 year climate actions” agenda.
The agenda seeks to put the country on a sustainability pathway and contribute to the global efforts to lower global temperatures below 1.5⁰C by reducing greenhouse gas emission
This was an outcome of a private investment mobilization capacity training workshop in alternative urban waste management, organized by CSIR –Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR) held in Accra, on Tuesday.
The two-day pilot capacity training workshop was attended by 17 stakeholders drawn from MMDS and other private organizations in Accra.
Speaking at the workshop on Tuesday, Mrs. Maame Adwoa Bentuma Animpong, the project leader from CSIR-IIR announced that it was meant to bring on board the private sector participation, investment and to assist in adaptation to ensure not polluted and safe for living.
CSIR-IIR Scientist Invents Bacteria, Virus Detecting Device
February 03, 2022
By Jonathan Donkor
A scientist with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr. Eric Ashalley, has invented a biosensing device that detects and categorizes various bacteria and viruses, including SARS COV-2 (COVID-19 virus).
The United States Patent Office has subsequently awarded the nanoscience and technology research scientist, who works with the Institute of Industrial Research (IIR) of CSIR, a patent, granting him ownership of the device.
Currently, CSIR is looking at channels to locally manufacture this device to augment the government's effort in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic since the accuracy of the device to detect the COVID-19 virus is 99.87%.
CSIR-RSA 32nd AGM and 3rd scientific conference: ‘Research Scientists charged to think about innovation’
November 07, 2021
- CSIR-RSA 32nd Annual General Meeting and 3rd scientific conference have been held with a call on research scientists to think about innovation.
- The adoption of drone technology has been recommended as an intervention to reduce manual application of dangerous chemicals on farms.
- Long periods spent in piloting technologies have been strongly discouraged.
- Research Scientists have been challenged to prioritize living legacies.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Research Staff Association (RSA) has held its 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 3rd scientific conference with a call on research scientists to consider innovation as a significant step to advance development of science and technology in the country.
eNews / Discovery
Popular News