By Comfort Sena Fetrie-Akagbor
Tamale, Oct 28, GNA – Dr Easton Reid from the United States (US) Embassy in Accra has called for adoption of home gardening to enhance household food security and address agricultural challenges in the country.
He said it was crucial to meet the needs of the country’s rising population.
He made the call at a US-Ghana Innovation for Food and Economy workshop in Tamale organised by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) in partnership with National Biosafety Authority and supported by U.S. Embassy in Accra.
It was to showcase agricultural biotechnology as a reliable tool to increase crop production.
Dr Reid said home gardens were an integral part of local food systems and the agricultural landscape of developing countries.
He stated that farmers faced more challenges on their farms due to climate stress, increasing unreliable rainfall and diminishing crop yields.
He said crops and livestock had suffered due to climate change, resulting in increased imports of rice, beans and tomatoes, adding that farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizer and food prices continued to rise, which had affected food security, especially in northern Ghana, the poor, and rural households.
Dr Reid said biotechnology and modern agricultural techniques could help Ghanaian farmers produce more foods, promote their health and ensure resilient communities.
He said: “We will feature home grown Council for Scientific and Industrial Research tools to help Ghana to overcome today’s farming challenges with crops that can grow in drought and stay productive when facing pests and diseases.”
He said the programme formed part of the US Government’s long-term commitment to Ghana’s agricultural sector adding “It is the goal for Ghana to grow its food, feed its people and be more secure.”
Dr Francis Kusi, Director of CSIR-SARI said agricultural biotechnology had been identified as one potent weapon to tackle the challenges facing farmers in the country.
He said biotechnology crops could make farming more profitable by increasing crops quality and yields adding it allowed farmers to spend less of their time managing their crops and more time on other profitable activities.
Professor Paul Bosu, Director-General of CSIR said biotechnology had a direct effect on improving food security.
He said biotechnology also allowed farmers to grow more food on less land using farming practices that were environmentally sustainable.
GNA