For farming to progress there should be a relationship between research and extension.
Based on this, the Upper East Regional Department of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, has organized a working visit to the CSIR-SARI Manga Station in the Bawku Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The working visit brought together the Regional, Municipal and District Crop Officers, Directors, Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) and some selected farmers across the Eastern Corridor of Upper East Region.
The visit was to afford the officers the opportunity to gain more insight of the innovating farming technologies being carried out at the Manga-Station.
The technologies being researched into, are appropriates to mitigate the changing climatic conditions and the poor distribution of rainfall in the Sudan Savannah zones.
Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Regional Crops Officer of MoFA, Joshua Diedong stated that, over the years, AEAs have not been able to create that linkage with the researchers to gain much insight of what they are doing as far as Agriculture development is concern.
He added that there is the need for close collaboration between Agriculture Extension and Researchers so as to harness ideas for the advancement of Agriculture.
The resident Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Francis Kusi led the team of scientist and took the Agricultural Officers and the farmers through technologies being carried out at the Manga Station of CSIR-SARI.
He showed them the various types of varieties and technologies that have been released by CSIR-SARI over the years and are thriving well with farmers.
These include vegetative propagation Frafra potato, legumes of different kinds such as groundnuts soybean and cowpea. Others include cereals such as extra-early to early maturing white and yellow maize, Millet, sorghum and rice.
Most of these varieties he said, are early maturing between 45 to 65 through to 75 days, disease and drought tolerant which is adaptable to the changing climatic conditions.
He schooled the farmers especially on the vigorous exercise they go through in producing quality seeds of improved crop varieties.
He therefore advised them to ensure that farmers will always obtain certified seeds for planting adding that, with the seed and fertilizer subsidy under the government flagship Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program, food security in Ghana is assured.
A seed grower from Tilly in the Bawku West District Akundi Lazarous explained that with farming technologies and the improved varieties from CSIR-SARI and Manga Station in particular, has been able to put eleven acres of land under cultivation with minimal cost yet maximum output.
He stated that he is mobilizing farmers within his catchment area to start community seed production with the knowledge learnt from CSIR-SARI Manga Station.
Story filed by Emmanuel Akayeti.
