Akyawkrom (Ash), Oct. 22, GNA – About 300,000 smallholder farmers in the northern parts of the country are to receive improved certified seeds within the next two years to help increase their crop yields and incomes.
The assistance from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is to support the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG) under the “Strengthening the Ghana Seed System to Enhance Quality Seed Delivery to Farmers” project.
The $376,801.76 project, which runs between October 2020 and September 2022, aimed at improving food and nutrition security and the incomes of smallholder farmers.
It will help deliver high quality certified seeds of hybrid maize, cowpea, groundnut and soyabean to the beneficiary farmers to plant to increase their yields per acre and farm incomes.
Mr Michael Dogor, Project Manager of NASTAG, announced this at the NASTAG consortium project inception meeting and the fourth Annual General Meeting of the Association at Akyawkrom in the Ejisu Municipality.
He said the project aimed to strengthen the production and supply of sustainable Early Generation Seed (EGS), scale-up quality certified seeds, and improve quality control packaging as well as developing a vibrant seed industry in Ghana.
The beneficiary farmers, he said would be equipped through field demonstrations, technology and seed fairs as well as media engagements.
Highlighting on the projected outputs, Mr Dogor said by the end of the project more than 50 seed producers and companies would have been trained on seed quality control measures.
Again, 20 technology demonstration farms would be set up to promote seed varieties of the project’s targeted crops.
Mr Osei Akoto, Director for Crop Services at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), indicated that the Directorate would continue to partner the private sector and to render relevant services to strengthen the seed industry in Ghana.
He said efforts were underway to supply some 14,000 metric tonnes of rice seeds next year to help boost rice production in the country.
GNA