Ghana Districts: A repository of all Local Assemblies in Ghana

AGRICULTURE

Farmers introduced to high-yield climate-resistant hybrid seedlings

The effect of the rampaging climate change has presented a considerable challenge to the socioeconomic development of Ghana where rain-fed agriculture provides livelihoods to millions of households.

Date Created : 8/11/2022 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Irene Danso/Ghanadistricts.com

The project, known as the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), seeks to make climate information services and climate-smart agriculture more accessible to small-scale farmers across Africa for optimal health outcomes for people, animals and plants.

Funded by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, the project is supported by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Crops Research Institute (CSIR – CRI), Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), Esoko and the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA).

The GHC6 million three-year project, which began in 2021, is geared towards limiting the use of inorganic chemicals on farmlands while encouraging bio-friendly products.

The project covered about 22 communities, 12 districts and 31 demonstration sites in the Upper East and West regions, Northern, Bono East, Greater Accra and Central Regions.

In the Central Region, AICCRA has secured demonstration sites at Enyinase and Dompoase in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality and Efutu and Dahia in the Cape Coast Metropolis to train farmers to successfully implement ‘one-health’ and climate-smart agriculture projects.

AICCRA had also engaged the public in awareness campaigns to support new business models which engage enterprises led by women and young people and climate resilience to sustain national food security.

Ghana’s maize production now stands at a little over three million tonnes per annum, with 1.7 metric tonnes per hectare as the average yield, but this could rise to more than 15 million metric tonnes with the new seed.

In addition, the farmers were taken through presentations on their adopted interventions, including farmyard manure management, environmentally friendly pest and disease management, market and climate information services and social inclusiveness.

According to him, the farmers built their capacities on finding solutions to fertilizer, pest and climate change challenges and with the help of Esoko, coordinated their activities to prevent wastage of resources and reduced cost. Mr Ebo Appiah, the Municipal Chief Executive for KEEA, commended the initiative as the surest way to boost the livelihoods of poor farmers across the country and support greater food security by making climate-smart agriculture innovations accessible to farmers off the shelves and into fields.

He said the project would connect existing local, regional and international expertise to strengthen the technical, institutional and human capacity of Ghanaians to improve their livelihoods.