Editorial by Ghanaian Times: CRI’s new vegetable varieties hope for food security

Two new varieties of to­mato and the varieties of okra and amaranth (locally known as alefu) developed by researchers at the Crop Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) give hope for ensuring food security in the country.

This is because the researchers assert that the new varieties have high yields and can withstand drought and other climate change conditions in the country.

It is the hope of the Ghanaian Times that the researchers would extend their work to other crops like fruits and carbohydrates.

It is clear climate change con­ditions are catching up with the country and going to undermine food production among other impacts.

For instance, over a month ago, there were media reports that food shortage looms in the Upper West Region because the region is facing a prolonged drought.

The second reason why the researchers must extend their work to other food crops is the rapid growth of the country’s population, which implies that there would be more mouths to feed in no time.

Just analyse the fact that in 1970, the country’s population was 8.5 million; 1980, 11.87 million; 1990, 15.45 million; 2000, 19.67 million; 2010, 25.57 million; 2020, 32.18 million; and currently (mid-year 2024), the population is estimated at 34. 43 million.

Meanwhile, the growth of communities has reduced the size of the land available for farming in years past, when the land was naturally fertile and far in excess of demand.

Today, the pressure on the land means it has become infertile and needs to be fertilised for optimum yields.

Besides the land is dwindling in size and has become infertile, the demon called galamsey continues to devastate it.

All this means the state must be proactive in finding the antidotes to the imminent national food shortage in the near future.

Clearly, the antidotes include the development of crop varieties that can give more yields on a small land.

This means even though the development of new food vari­eties is not new in the world, the CRI researchers have rekindled the need for the country to do all it can to nip in the bud any possibility of food shortage in the country.

Imagine that domestic demand for fresh tomatoes in the country stands at 1.2 million metric tonnes per year, but local farmers are able to produce only 30 percent of the quantity.

Clearly, food shortages result from production issues, which include the unavailability of irrigation systems and lack of inputs like fertiliser and or their unafford­ability.

Therefore, the government must take seriously the call to focus on irrigation farming to ensure all-year production of all manner of food crops to meet local consumption.

The appeal from farmers to the government to reduce the cost of fertilisers and pesticides must also be seriously considered.

It is everyone’s expectation that the project under which the CRI researchers are working will be successful as it has prospects to combat threats posed by climate change, which affect vegetable production and hopefully, one day other crops will also be protected from negative climate change effects.

This can enormously ensure food security in the country.