An international research group has developed a mobile phone application that can facilitate marketing of agricultural produce in Ghana.
The platform created by Centre for Technology and Economic Development will serve as a common market place for farmers and prospective buyers.
It is part of a project by New York University in its bid to improve rural economies through tourism, farming and wildlife management.
Director of the Centre, Yaw Darko, says farming can attract tourists to the country if it is packaged well.
“We believe that there is a lot in the rural areas that is going to help in tourism… Tourism is showing what is beautiful in your town, tourism itself has a potential in Ghana if we further develop the facilities and give the tourists something to see,” he said.
He says other parts of the country will benefit from the project through the proposed expansion of the project.
In future expansions, the centre will include tourist sites to promote the tourism industry in the country.
Mr. Darko spoke to Luv Biz at a Rural Tourism Development forum at Kumawu in the Ashanti Region.
Minister for Culture and Tourism, Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare, believes vibrant rural tourism can be a tool for poverty alleviation in the country.
“Tourism sites and other interesting locations are located in the rural areas. We have enormous responsibility to unlock Africa’s rural tourism potentials,” she said. This will create economic opportunities to rural deprived communities and better lives particularly create employment through tourism”.
Santa Opio, Global Water Initiative (GWI) “Champion Farmer” collecting cassava in her fields. Subsistence farmers in East Africa are facing huge challenges because of climate variability which means that they often experience a shortage of rainfall in the growing season. They have traditionally relied on rainfall for irrigation, but now need to adopt new techniques to ensure that they can continue to survive and feed their families.
