Agriculture Extension Agents undergo training on pests and diseases control

Sunyani, Dec. 22, GNA – Twenty-two Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in the Bono Region have undergone a three-day training workshop to empower them to support farmers to control pests and diseases for improved yields.

Selected from the 12 districts and municipalities in the region, the Agents were taken through early signs and symptoms of common pests and diseases, which invade maize, vegetable and cocoa farms.

The Regional Directorate of MoFA organized the training, which was a follow up to the implementation of the Plantwise Project that ended in 2020.

Plantwise is a global programme, led by the Center for Agricultural Biosciences International (CABI), a member-stated owned organization that aims to increase food security and improve rural livelihoods by reducing crop losses.

CABI supported the MoFA to implement the eight-year project, which started in 2012 and aimed at helping to control pests and diseases in the country.

The project was funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Netherlands and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Other funding agencies include the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China and the Koppert Foundation.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the training workshop in Sunyani, Mr Christopher Ocloo, the Bono Regional Officer, Plant Protection of MoFA, said some staff who benefited from the project had gone on compulsory retirement while others had been promoted.

He said it was, therefore, imperative to train more of the AEAs to understand the project concept and reach out to and engage farmers in their localities to assist them in pest and disease control.

Mr Ocloo mentioned fall armyworm and cocoa swollen shoot diseases as common pests and diseases causing devastating effects on farms but added with the project, farmers had been empowered to detect early signs to fight the disease.

He said the project implementation had made a significant impact on pest and disease control in the region and expressed appreciation to CABI and its partners for the project.

Mrs Birgitta Oppong-Mensah, the Scientist, Responsible for Agricultural Advisory, CABI, explained the implementation of the project and developed a data collection system on pests and diseases to support the AEAs.

In addition, she said an offline App was also developed for the AEAs to research more on pests and diseases control.

More than 500 AEAs were trained nationwide to reach out to and engage farmers on early diagnosis, management and control of pest and disease infestation on crops and vegetables, she added.

GNA