The winner of the maiden edition of the Israeli Green Innovation Competition - an initiative by the Israeli Embassy in partnership with the Stratcomm Africa innovative Ghana Garden and Flower Show, Mr. Prince Pius Nutsugah, has lauded the example of Israel in solving the challenges of post-harvest losses.
He says ‘Israel has developed a robust system to address post-harvest losses which Ghana can tap into to enhance our agriculture and help farmers reap the value of their hard work.’
It is estimated that at least 30 per cent of Ghana’s farm produce is lost annually through post-harvest losses, a situation which significantly reduces incomes of farmers. This situation, Prince Pius Nutsugah observed, is a huge loss to the country as well as the farmer.
The award winner gave a vivid account of his visit to Israel at a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday November 26th, 2019, at the Stratcomm Africa premises. On September 1st, 2019, Mr. Nutsugah won the Israeli Green Innovation award sponsored by the Israeli Embassy in Ghana with a product focused on Post-Harvest Losses in the fruit and vegetable sub-sector. The product developed by Mr. Nutsugah and the Coologi team is a storage unit constructed largely with locally sourced material that runs on solar power which farmers can use to keep their produce for much longer.
As part of the prize package, Mr. Nutsugah attended three conferences in Israel, Food-Tech, Agri-Fest, and one focused on Sports Technology. At these conferences, he “spent time interacting and connecting with” other innovators and potential investors and gained “a wealth of knowledge and positive feedback in terms of how we could improve on our storage units”.
He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to gain such invaluable experience and encouraged people interested in green innovation to participate in next year’s edition of the Green Innovation Awards competition. “I will gladly urge innovators to participate in the Ghana Garden and Flower Show and the Israeli Green Innovation Competition”, said Mr. Nutsugah.
Esther A N Cobbah, Chief Executive Officer of Stratcomm Africa says, “This year, Stratcomm Africa is celebrating its 25th Anniversary with the theme “Communication Excellence for Africa’s prosperity in this digital age”. We are, therefore, most delighted to have presented to Ghanaians, through the Ghana Garden and Flower Show, a beautiful bouquet of benefits, including this Israeli Green Innovation award. Stimulating innovation, entrepreneurship, environmental conservation, job creation and the potential for improved livelihoods in Ghana all contribute to the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
Her Excellency Shani Cooper, Israel’s Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone says, “the success of this first ever Green Innovation awards in Ghana really gladdens our hearts. Israel encourages Innovation and business startups and we are pleased to have the opportunity to touch lives in Ghana through promoting innovation among startups in Ghana.”
The next round of Green Innovation awards will open early 2020.