By Phalonzy🖊️
Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has officially opened the 14th edition of the prestigious Ghana Garden and Flower Show at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra, under the compelling theme: “Green Means Business, Beauty and More.”
The colourful and well-attended ceremony brought together key stakeholders in Ghana’s burgeoning horticultural value chain, including growers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, and policymakers.
In her keynote address, the Vice President underscored that the enchanting beauty of gardens and flowers transcends mere aesthetics, emphasizing that behind every blossom lies a robust and lucrative economic ecosystem.
She stated that, “Beyond the splendour of gardens and flowers lies a formidable economy – an economy of growers, skilled workers, entrepreneurs and thriving businesses. If we are to help that economy to flourish, we must deliberately connect skills and production to finance, standards, markets and exports.”
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further stressed the urgent imperative of integrating green spaces into Ghana’s urban development paradigm, particularly in the wake of recent devastating floods that have bedeviled parts of the country.
She emphasized that, “The recent flooding has provided a sobering reminder that the quality of our environment cannot be divorced from how we develop our towns and cities. Green spaces must become an integral fulcrum of how we plan and build, alongside enhanced sanitation, responsible development and greater stewardship of our surroundings.”
She noted that strategic initiatives being spearheaded by the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Secretariat, in concert with relevant Ministries, the Department of Parks and Gardens and local authorities, are purposefully designed to make greening a deliberate and indispensable component of national development, while simultaneously catalyzing businesses and sustainable livelihoods anchored around it.
The Vice President also eulogized and congratulated Stratcomm Africa, exhibitors, partners and all dedicated collaborators whose unwavering commitment and toil have sustained the Ghana Garden and Flower Show for fourteen consecutive years, transforming it into a beacon of environmental consciousness and economic opportunity.