By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
Ghana presently consumes about one point four million tons of rice annually, with just half of the amount produced locally.
This translates into a huge import bill with serious consequences for the stability of the macro economy.
To bridge the gap between local production and importation, there is a need for a national commitment of a dedicated percentage of the country’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP, to advance science and research toward the production of new and improved crop varieties for commercial production by farmers.
The Deputy Director of the Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr. Maxwell Asante, made the call at Fumesua near Ejisu in the Ashanti region at the opening of training workshop for Plant Breeders and Biotechnologists from West and East Africa as well as India.
Dr. Asante, himself a Rice Breeder, said for Ghana to bridge the gap between rice consumption and production, government must dedicate a percentage of the GDP annually specifically to fund science and research for the development and release of new and improved crop varieties for commercial production by farmers.
“Breeding is quite an expensive venture. What we do is create the lines and test them. You’ve got to do a lot of work in the lab and stuff like that. For my small breeding programme here, we spend at least $50,000 a year, and that is the minimum,” he illustrated.
Science and Research have over the years significantly contributed toward addressing challenges associated with food production in Africa, particularly Ghana.
The Crops Research Institute, C.R.I. the largest of the 13 research institutions under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has been the lead in research into new and better crop varieties in Ghana, with its Research Scientists at the forefront of cereals, grains, and horticultural crop breeding, in which many different varieties of maize, rice, cowpea, potato, cassava, vegetables, and even fruits have been released to farmers across the country for mass commercial production.
However, with the advancement in technology coupled with matters of global food security and climate change, the C.R.I. not resting on its oars, is still working hard to improve upon the competencies and professional skills of its Research Scientists to propel Ghana’s food security agenda.
It is in pursuant of this that the Institute, in partnership with ABI Transform, a South Asia concerned and the National Agriculture, Research, and Extension Services, NARES, organised a workshop at Fumesua near Ejisu in the Ashanti region to enhance the capacity of Plant Breeders.
Participants of the four-day training programme are Plant Breeders from some of the CSIR institutes in Ghana as well as others from East and West Africa in addition to India to go through topics such as Speed Breeding, Smart Breeding, Genotyping to enhance precision and efficiency, Cost of High Impact Rice Breeding in East and West Africa among others with a focus on ‘Accelerated Breeding Modernization for Hi-Impact Rice Breeding.’
The programme also involved an exhibition and field visitation of rice fields under research at Fumesua.
The Coordinator for Abi Transform in South Asia, Dr. Sanjay Katiyar, explained that the capacity enhancement programme is to improve upon the competency of the beneficiaries to develop new crop varieties in response to climate change and global food insecurity.
“In the last 60 years, we used to take 10–15 years to develop one variety. Now, to tackle this global climate change, we need the varieties very fast and therefore, we’re bound to use the technologies”, Dr. Katiyar explained.
