00:00The country has shifted away from producing to eat and instead is importing a lot of what is consumed.
00:06The plan is to reverse that trend. As such, a variety of Ghanaian white yams are being introduced to TNT.
00:12Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the country's consulate in Ghana, led by Hilton John Mitchell, was instrumental in the initiative.
00:20He assisted us in meeting with the people who could help us get planting material.
00:27Dr Alleen has been to Ghana a couple of times to the universities there, working with them.
00:32At the end of all that effort, we recently received as a gift from Dr Mitchell and the Ghanaian authorities,
00:4010,000 units of planting material of four varieties of yams.
00:47According to the Prime Minister, some have already been planted in Tobago and now some have been planted at Tucker Valley in Chagiramas.
00:55Planting these imports at different locations in the country, we will see where they do well and what soils they do best in.
01:05And against that background, we'll be able to choose either all four or one or two of the four and encourage our local farmers to grow these.
01:15Because from these 10,000 plants, we intend to multiply and to propagate the species into the farming community.
01:23Dr Rowley points to the ability of the yams to yield in quantity and quality.
01:28He says apart from food security, it is about healthier options in people's diets.
01:33You know we import a lot of what you call Irish potatoes, white potatoes from Canada.
01:38That forms a huge part of our diet in very many ways.
01:42A lot of that can be replaced by yams.
01:46We want to say to our national population, get to know these produce.
01:52They're good for you. They're good for the country.
01:56We want to grow what we eat and we're asking you to eat what we grow.
02:03If that is not done, the Prime Minister states that a food import bill, which consumes foreign exchange, will continue to be a burden.
02:10Special Advisor for Agriculture to the Prime Minister, Dr John Allen, states the TNT's yam stock and variety have been depleting due to pest diseases.
02:19As for the Ghanaian yams brought into the country?
02:22So there was no problem in terms of bringing in diseases with it, as some people may ascribe.
02:27These are clean yams from tissue culture origin.
02:30The yams will be planted at five locations in total and are expected to take around nine months from planting to harvesting.
02:38At Shagaramas, Young Farmers of the Shade House Project under the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service will spearhead the initiative of planting 300 yams.
02:48Minister Foster Cummings says the program to train 1,500 young farmers is moving apace.
02:54As of this date, we have reached 1,400 so that our commitment to train 1,500 will be realized by the end of 2025.
03:05And we intend as well to expand the Shade House Project.
03:08Cabinet has already approved the construction of an additional 16 Shade Houses, which will bring our complement to 20 Shade Houses.
03:16Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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