TechnoServe assists 240 farmers in Upper West Region

Kpongu (UWR), Oct. 7, GNA - Management of TechnoServe is assisting 240 farmers in the Upper West Region during the current farming season with inputs and extension services to cultivate high yielding varieties of maize, groundnuts and soybeans for adoption by other farmers. After harvesting the crops, the farmers would further be assisted to market their produce through an inventory credit programme. These strategies would facilitate the adoption of improved production technologies for these crops among farmers to increase production and ensure food security. Mr Nick Railston-Brown, Country Director of TechnoServe announced these in an address read on his behalf at a farmer's field day at Kpongu in Wa Municipality.

It offered a platform for extension staff of TechnoServe and collaborative agencies to demonstrate technologies that would enable farmers increase crop yields for enhanced food security and incomes. Management of TechnoServe has since 2002 promoted the cultivation of "mamaba" a high quality protein maize under good agricultural practices to obtain higher output from the use of improved seed and good crop management practices. The results of similar demonstration fields at Deriyilli, Barzin and Eremon in Jirapa and Lawra Districts last year showed yields from improved fields to be five times more than yields from farmers' practice fields.

Mr Railston-Brown observed that with the increasing consumption of sorghum, maize, groundnuts and cowpea in the brewery and other allied industries, farmers were assured of a growing market for their produce. Mr Alfred Osei, Food Aid Specialist of USAID, which is sponsoring the project, urged the farmers to share their ideas and experiences to farmers in other communities. He said efficient production of the four crops would apart from improving their livelihood contribute to the global market. "The improved varieties have high nutritional properties and should therefore be adopted for cultivation on a massive scale," he added.