Agriculture Extension Agents from seven selected districts from the three Northern Regions have received training in seed inspection and certification to support activities of the Ghana Seed Inspection Division of the Ministry of Agriculture (GSID-MOFA).
The training programme initiated by the Feed the Future USAID Agriculture Technology Transfer Project (FTF-USAID-ATT) forms part of its objective to ensure that seed growers produce high quality seeds for farmers to help increase yield.
The Head of the GSID-MOFA, Samuel Adzivor, explained at the closing of the three-day workshop in Tamale that the extension agents who have been trained in seed production and technology will complement the supervisory and monitory work of the regional officers of the GSID-MOFA to ensure the production of quality seeds.
He said farmers’ access to quality seeds is critical in the country’s quest to ensure food security.
“If farmers get quality seeds to sow, achieve good plant population and apply the right farming technologies, it can result in yield increase, which is the dream of every farmer,†he explained.
Mr. Adzivor said the entire Northern Region has only three seed inspectors and one laboratory personnel, which he maintains is woefully inadequate.
“So the innovative idea is that the GSID-MOFA is equipping agric extension agents who work in the various communities where seed growers are located with the right skills to inspect the fields,†he said.
Mr. Musah Salifu Taylor, an organisational development advisor, said the training initiative will be scaled up across the country when it receives approval from the GSID-MOFA to support efforts to strengthen activities of the division.
He said farmers’ efforts to increase production are often thwarted due to many challenges including poor seeds, low soil fertility, low and improper use of fertilizer, and low level of mechanisation in production and processing.
Mr. Taylor explained that FTF-USAID-ATT has been designed to address some of the key constraints of smallholder farmers, so as to improve agricultural productivity and growth through the development, availability and adoption of agricultural technologies.
The FTF-USAID-ATT is part of President Barack Obama’s flagship programme to increase food security and improve nutritional status around the world.
It seeks tosome of the complex value chain issues, focusing on the use of technologies to improve the seed sector. The project also focuses on identifying sustainable solutions that will lead to increased competitiveness in the rice, soybean and maize value chains.
The five-year initiative aims to enhance the capacity of both the public and private sector in their respective roles in technology development and dissemination, focusing on seeds, Integrated Soil Fertility Management and agricultural research capacity building.
It has a target to reach over 100,000 maize, rice and soya farmers in northern Ghana through public and private sector partners.
By Samuel Sam | B&FT Online | Ghana
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