The Seed Systems Group (SSG), an African-based science-driven non-profit organisation, is intensifying efforts to improve farmers’ access to improved pearl millet and cowpea varieties to enhance agricultural productivity and food security in northern Ghana.
The intervention is being undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research–Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI),
The initiative forms part of the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils programme, funded by the people and government of the United States of America, and seeks to strengthen seed systems by ensuring that improved crop varieties developed by researchers reach farmers through efficient distribution channels.
The Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils initiative promotes climate-resilient crop varieties and supports sustainable agricultural systems through improved access to quality seeds and enhanced technical support for farmers.
As part of the initiative, about 50 agro-input dealers from the Upper East and the North-East Regions participated in a three-day capacity-building workshop to enhance their technical knowledge in seed handling, business management, record keeping and compliance with regulations governing Ghana’s seed industry.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop in Bolgatanga, Dr Issoufou Kapran, the President o the SSG, said the organisation, headquartered in Kenya with a West Africa office in Togo, was working in 15 countries to strengthen seed systems and improve farmers’ access to quality planting materials.
He noted that although scientists continued to develop improved crop varieties, many failed to reach farming communities because of weaknesses in seed distribution systems.
“Our goal is to ensure that improved seeds are produced at scale, meet quality standards and ultimately reach farmers,” Dr Kapran said.
According to him, agro-dealers occupy a strategic position in connecting research institutions with farmers and therefore needed the technical capacity to educate farmers on the benefits of improved seeds.
“We want agro-dealers to stock these improved seeds, demonstrate them on their farms and educate farmers on their benefits, including high yields, early maturity and resistance to birds,” he said.
Dr Kapran said farmers who had tested the improved pearl millet varieties had expressed satisfaction with their performance, particularly their early maturity and resistance to bird attacks.
He emphasised that strengthening agro-dealers’ knowledge would not only increase the availability of improved seeds but also encourage wider adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties among farmers.
Alhaji Zakaria Fuseini, Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Agriculture, described quality seeds as the foundation of crop production and food security, stressing that the training would equip agro-dealers with the knowledge to provide farmers with appropriate advice on seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.
“Every farmer deserves quality seed because without seed there can be no crop production,” he said.
He observed that inadequate technical knowledge among some agro-dealers had sometimes resulted in farmers purchasing inappropriate agrochemicals, leading to crop losses.
Ms Gertrude G. Sazito, the Upper East Regional Agricultural Officer at the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Department (PPRSD), said the initiative would strengthen the capacity of agro-dealers, who served as a vital link between seed producers and farmers.
She reiterated the department’s commitment to ensuring that only certified and quality seeds reached the market to improve agricultural productivity and safeguard farmers’ investments.