- LọAccording to Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, nearly four out of ten farmers in the nation now sow using enhanced seeds.
This indicates that six out of ten people (60{c59f2d9e93250d9a3f00f33c4784bba748f246721195afccc412c2cbc44f328a}) still use conventional farmer-saved seeds for planting.
This was stated by Dr. Akoto in a statement made on his behalf at a ceremony to present farming equipment to the West Africa Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI).
Case International and Kanu Equipment provided tractors and their accessories, such as tillers, harrows, and plows, through a strategic alliance with Agromite Limited to help WACCI expand and commercialize crop types. Kanu would offer the Center post-sale support..
Through Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Mr. Emre Altintas, the Business Manager of Case IH Agriculture for Africa and the Middle East, delivered documentation and the keys to the equipment to the Center.
The percentage was higher than in prior cropping seasons, when only two out of ten farmers utilized certified seeds, according to Dr. Akoto.
He said that the Ministry has changed the seed system to guarantee the supply of high-quality seeds in order to boost output and assure food sufficiency.
The Minister stated that the government would work with WACCI to increase the center’s capacity to create more high-quality enhanced seeds, multiply them, and commercialize them.
The challenge of food and nutrition in the nation needed to be addressed, according to Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, Director of WACCI. He estimated that the center needed an injection of about $30 million.
The importation of seeds and food, which costs the nation roughly $2.5 million a year, might be reduced through innovation, according to him, with the help of the funding.
According to Prof. Danquah, the center played a key role in the development of hardy hybrid maize varieties that produce six tons per hectare in savannah regions and about 10 tonnes per hectare in southern Ghana.
Other breakthroughs, he claimed, had produced tomato types that produce roughly 40 tonnes per hectare as opposed to the existing average of eight tons.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, advocated for increased funding for agriculture in order to boost employment, fight hunger and poverty, and guarantee food security.
According to her, investing in the agricultural sector was a viable and essential part of the development of every nation and produced numerous returns that could be counted upon for years to come.
