Extension Officers improve knowledge on seeds

Agricultural Extension Agents from seven districts in the three Northern Regions have received training in seed inspection and certification to augment the activities of the Ghana Seed Inspection Division of the Ministry of Agriculture (GSID-MOFA).

The initiative is championed by Feed the Future -USAID Agriculture Technology Transfer Project (FTF-USAID-ATT) as part of its project objectives seeks to ensure that seed growers produced high quality seeds for farmers to help increase yield.

Mr. Samuel Adzivor, Head of the GSID-MOFA, addressing the closing of the three-day workshop, in Tamale, said the entire northern region had only three seed inspectors and one laboratory personnel, which he maintained was woefully inadequate.

“So the innovative idea is that the GSID-MOFA are equipping AEA’s who work in the various communities where seed growers are located with the right skills to inspect the fields,” he said.

He said access to quality seeds was a basic input in farming and played a crucial role in the country’s quest to attain food security.

“If farmers get quality seeds to sow, achieve good plant population, and apply the right farming technologies, it can result in yield increase, which is the dream of every farmer,” he explained.

Mr. Musah Salifu Taylor, Organisational Development Advisor, said farmer efforts to increase production were often thwarted by many challenges.

These include poor seeds, low soil fertility, low and improper use of fertilizer and low levels of mechanization in production and processing.

He explained that the FTF-USAID-ATT had, therefore, been designed to address some of the key constraints of small holder farmers so as to improve agricultural productivity and growth, including the development, availability and adoption of agricultural technologies.

The FTF-USAID-ATT initiative, the first of its kind in the country, is part of President Barack Obama’s flagship programmes to increase food security and improve nutritional status around the world.