Nyankpala (N/R), Nov 30, – A three-year $689,984.00 project to increase
the yields of cowpea, groundnut and soybean of smallholder farmers in the north
has been launched.
Thirty to 50 per cent of them
would be using locally-produced high-quality rhizobium inoculants and strategic
applications of phosphorous fertilizer to step up yields.
The project dubbed: “Scaling up
of the benefits of rhizobium inoculant technology among smallholder legume
farmers in Northern Ghana” will train agricultural extension officers on
inoculants use for enhanced legume production as well as facilitate the
distribution and provision at low cost of inoculants by agricultural input
suppliers.
It would also strengthen supply
chain of legumes from the production unit to reach approximately 30,000
smallholder farmers, 30 per cent of which would be women in five regions
including; the Northern, Upper East and Upper West.
The project is being implemented
by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savannah Agricultural
Research Institute (CSIR-SARI), in partnership with EMBRAPA Agrobiology of
Brazil and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Dr Victor Agyeman, Director
General of CSIR, who launched the project at Nyankpala, near Tamale on
Wednesday, said it would encourage use of requisite good agricultural practices
inputs to boost production.
In the northern part of the
country, legumes especially groundnut and cowpea are referred to as “women’s
crops” therefore yields improvement through inoculation will directly benefit
women by raising their ability to feed their children and increasing their
economic power.
The build-up of legume residues
in the soil resulting from increased legume productivity will also enhance the
soil organic matter content, the storehouse of mineral nutrients for succeeding
crops.
Dr Stephen Nutsugah, Director of
CSIR-SARI said the project was geared towards empowering farmers to achieve
sustainable production with an added value of achieving sustainable land use
for agricultural production.
Dr Nutsugah described the project
as another step towards efforts and desire to reduce poverty and improve the
livelihood of the people of the three regions of the north.
GNA
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