Government, IFAD begin root crops development programme

Ho, May 18, GNA - The government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have embarked on a six-year plan to develop root and tuber crops to boost the country's food security and diversification programme.

The IFAD is contributing 9.01 million dollars while the government and beneficiaries are providing one million dollars and 600,000 dollars respectively towards the programme.

Miss Salome Danso, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the Roots and Tubers Improvement Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture, announced this at a forum for farmers, district assemblies, agriculture officers and food processors at Ho on Wednesday.

She said root and tuber crops occupy strategic socio-economic positions in Ghana's agriculture, contributing about 40 per cent of the agriculture Gross Domestic Product.

Miss Danso said this makes root crops necessary and important components of the government's growth and rural development strategy, especially in ensuring sustainable, stable and improved income to farmers and processors.

The programme, which is already under way in 18 districts, will focus on the establishment of multiplication sites for improved seedlings and varieties of cassava, yam, cocoyam and sweet potato.

Miss Danso said the processing and marketing of the crops would be taken up in collaboration with the Food Research Institute and the and Crops Research Institute to improve the incomes of producers and processors. She, therefore, called on district assemblies to incorporate the processing of root and tubers in their programmes under the Village Infrastructure Programme to obtain IFAD assistance for farmers engaged in the processing of these crops.

In an address read for him, the Volta Regional Minister, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Agbenaza (Rtd), said the government's ability to achieve a six per cent growth in agriculture depends largely on the growth of roots and tubers.

"This makes the roots and tubers improvement programme an important strategic plan, which, together with other interventions, is necessary for ensuring food security and improved incomes to rural farmers and food processors.

"I, therefore, exhort all of you to live up to expectation in this crusade," he said. In a paper delivered on her behalf, Mrs Patience Mateko Larweh of the Food Research Institute said the conversion of unfermented roots and tuber crops into flour for use as pastries and cookies was an important diversification worth encouraging.

"One of the surprises from cassava is the salad cream, which, undoubtedly, is of good quality and sensory characteristics. "Recipes developed out of sweet potato, some of which have been tested by the Food Research Institute, demonstrates how much the utilisation of sweet potato has been broadened," she said.