Manga, Dec. 2, GNA- Dr Issah Sugri, a Research Scientist at the Savannah Agricultural station, has advised farmers to form cooperatives to procure simple threshing machines to reduce post-harvest losses.
He said few farmers could use the machines instead of using manual labour, which wastes time and with the rain beating the grains could increase the aflatoxin levels.
The major farming season has come to a close and farmers are up to the task of harvesting crops and legumes to avoid the usual annual post-harvest challenges, especially the lack of combine harvesters.
Dr Sugri told the Ghana News Agency that farmers challenge with post-harvest losses was not only with the absence of equipment but timeliness in carrying out the harvest.
He said the delay in harvests was a threat bush fires contributed to the losses of crops on the farms.
He also urged farmers to dry with enough sunlight and patronize pic sacks for storage of their grains to prevent deterioration of the harvested crop.
The researcher said rice had high post-harvest challenges and because most farmers tried to harvest many crops at the same time, there was always pressure, leading to losses.
“If a farmer losses 10 bowls of rice, groundnuts or millet, multiplied by thousand farmers in a district at the prevailing price of GHC14.00 is a big loss,” he said.
He said people did not value post-harvest losses (PHL) because it happened at small levels at each farmers level in the district and the implication was huge when aggregated and given its proper economic value.
He said various rice varieties were developed for the farmer either for upland, where there is much water, lowland and for hydromorphic areas with a lot of water and for which variety is suitable.
He said the latest developed is the ‘Banse’ rice seed a climate-smart variety that matures within 120 days.
In addressing the PHL challenge, he said the station continued to provide training and sensitization to farmers to know when to harvest and how it is done.
Statistics from the Upper East Regional Directorate of MoFA showed that 59,456 metric tons of rice were produced in 2019 with a consumption rate of 36,955, a remaining surplus of 22,501 MT.
Maize production in the same year was 99,777 metric tonnes with a surplus of 51,274 metric tonnes with only 48,503 MT consumed.
According to him soya bean production in 2019 was 16,991 Mt in the region with a surplus of 11,217 Mt after consumption at 5,774 Mt with a cumulative surplus of 84,992 tons of maize, rice and soya beans.
Maize Production in the Upper East Region received an increase from a crop area production of 52,688 hectares in 2017 to 131,632 hectares in 2018.
Sorghum production in the region had the highest leap from 50,628 hectares in 2017 to 72,010 hectares whilst rice production increased from 43,350 hectares in 2017 to 98,143 hectares last year.
Statistics from the Ministry Of Agriculture (MoFA) in Bolgatanga indicate that the region’s production level was 472,467 metric tonnes in 2018 compared with 413,431 metric tons produced in 2017.
Maize Production yields increased from 52,688 hectares in 2017 to 131,632 hectares in 2018 while Sorghum production leaped from 50,628 hectares in 2017 to 72,010 hectares and rice production from 43,350 hectares in 2017 to 98,143 in 2018.
GNA.