By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Tono (U/E), Oct. 03, GNA – The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI) has intensified efforts to promote the adoption of improved vegetable varieties among farmers in the Upper East Region.
The new improved varieties developed in 2022 by the CSIR-CRI include tomatoes, okra, and amaranth.
Currently, only tomato varieties, namely CRI Kwabena, Kwabena and KOPIA, have been released, while the okra and amaranth varieties are yet to be released.
At a durbar held at Tono in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality, farmers were educated on the nutritional importance of consuming foods prepared from these improved varieties of tomatoes, okra, and amaranth.
Additionally, the farmers participated in sensory testing by eating dishes prepared from the improved vegetables to evaluate their acceptability as compared to the local species currently produced.
The farmers, drawn from the Tono community near Navrongo, Vea in the Bongo District, and Pwalugu in the Talensi District, also received free seeds of the improved vegetable varieties to support production in the area.
The durbar formed part of the implementation of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme, launched by the African Development Bank in 2018 to catalyse agricultural growth, enhance food security, and foster inclusive development across Africa.
In Ghana, CSIR-CRI, in partnership with the World Vegetable Center, is spearheading the TAAT II Vegetable Compact Project, which focuses on boosting the development of the vegetable sector to improve nutrition and incomes for farming households.
The project seeks to improve the livelihoods of farmers by promoting the adoption of improved vegetable varieties, enhancing productivity, and strengthening the vegetable value chain.
It has demonstrated crops in three locations each in the Volta Region (Adidome-Ziope, Adaklu, and North Akatsi), Upper East Region (Tono, Vea, and Pwalugu), and Bono Region (Berekum East, Dormaa East, and Berekum Municipality).
The project has also been conducting variety performance demonstrations through field days, training vegetable seed companies on healthy seedling production and marketing, developing a roadmap for vegetable production in Ghana, and creating innovation platforms for vegetables.
Speaking at the durbar, Dr Michael Kwabena Osei, Principal Research Scientist and Vegetable Breeder at CSIR-CRI, Kumasi, explained that the new improved varieties were developed in 2022 and demonstrated to farmers in 2024.
He said climate change was changing the face of agricultural production and there was an urgent need to adapt by developing improved seeds that were high-yielding and resilient to weather conditions to help address food and nutritional gaps in the country.
“These varieties are unique in terms of their earliness to maturity, climate resilience, and high yield, with the new tomato varieties, for instance, giving 20 tonnes per hectare as against 10 tonnes per hectare of the local variety.
“Apart from that, they are hybrid, suitable for both the fresh market and the processing industry, and tolerant to diseases,” he said.
He urged farmers to adopt the new varieties to increase vegetable production, reduce importation, especially of tomatoes, and strengthen the nutritional security of the country.
Ms Jessica Kukua Baidoo, Research Associate at the World Vegetable Center, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to working with CSIR to ensure that new and improved technologies were transferred to farmers to boost the agricultural sector.
Mr Sulemana Matthew, Talensi District Director of the Department of Agriculture, lauded the initiative, noting that the climate-resilient and high-yielding nature of the varieties made them suitable for the area, and urged farmers to embrace them.
Mr Kingsley Kawi, a Nutritionist at the Ghana Health Service, Kassena-Nankana Municipal Directorate, emphasised the importance of vegetable consumption for human health and urged farmers to increase production.
The farmers lauded the initiative, noting that the food tasted better and expressing their readiness to adopt the improved varieties.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah