A two-week international workshop to build the capacity and strengthen the management of agricultural research stations opened at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) at Fumesua, near Kumasi, on Monday.
It is being organised by Agricom International, Canada, with financial support from Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSRI).
Twenty seven (27) agricultural research station managers and support services technicians from Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria are attending the workshop, which aims at equipping them with skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to provide the right support services for successful conduct and implementation of research activities in their countries.
Dr Hans Adu-Dapaah, Director of CRI, addressing the opening session, identified inadequate funding and lack of capacity building for research support services staff as a major challenge to agricultural research activities in Africa.
He said the workshop would, therefore, expose the participants to the relevant techniques to enhance performance and called on them to take the course seriously to achieve efficiency at their stations.
Dr Hannibal Muthar, Consultant to the project, said sustainable food security would not be achieved if agricultural research stations are not efficiently managed to give the needed support services to researchers.
He called on the participants to bring their experiences on board and share ideas to improve on the management of their stations.