The beneficiary farmers who are members of a Rice Farmer Group in the area by name Joy Rice Farmers are being trained by the Adidome Farm Institute, also in the region with funding from the Skill Development Fund (SDF) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The farmers were drawn from about ten communities in the area including Dadiase, Kromasi, Odome among others, and are certified Rice Growers who have been working closely with Small Actions For Enterprise (SAFE-Ghana), a rice production focused non-governmental organization in Ho.

The first phase of the training, which was held on a demonstration farm in Nkwanta, saw officers from SAFE-Ghana and Adidome Farm take participants through lessons in land preparations, bound building and transplanting.

The lead trainer, Prosper Atikor told Citi News that participants would also be trained in record keeping, harvesting and sales, Financial Management as well as System of Rice Intensification (SRI) techniques.

The SRI is a set of farming practices that ensure maximum use of land and water as well as other resources, based on the adoption of climate-smart technologies that could make crops to resist drought, waterlogging and wind damage.

The Volta region has increased its annual rice production from 43,944 metric tonnes in 2008 to 190,450 metric tonnes in 2014 making it the highest producer of rice in the country currently.

A significant land area of the region falls within the Volta River Basin with the River flowing through the valleys in the region; a landscape suitable for arable farming.

The chairman of the Joy Rice Farmers Group, Steven Obikyebi, who was grateful for the program, was hopeful that the training would better position them to leverage on government’s flagship programme on local industrialization and economic growth

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By: King Nobert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nkwanta rice farmers undergo climate-smart agric training appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to them, the over one thousand four hundred and fifty (1,450) hectares of rice cultivated and partly harvested are wasting away on the farms while some going bad on the farms due to lack of combine harvesters.

Speaking to Citi News after a tour of the farms, Chairman of Tono Irrigation Cooperative Farmers Union Chief James Adawina highlighted the adverse impact of the situation on farmers.

“This time we are harvesting and you can see a lot of rice sitting on the yard and we are challenged of getting market our rice.  And you know when you farm, you need to sell the produce before you can re-cultivate but now we can’t get buyers to buy our produce.”

“We also have most of our rice going bad on the farms, this season we have done 1,450 hectares of rice production but we cannot get combine harvester machines to harvest them. Our fears are that, if we start to experience heavy downpours and floods, all our produce will be destroyed.”

Mr. Adawina added that, the perennial problem of marketing of their produce and combine harvesters have been reported to the appropriate ministry and agencies but has yielded not result.

He, however, appealed to the government as a matter of urgency to buy their produce directly or facilitate get their produce sold.

“We are appealing that, if government can buy our rice or get someone buy the rice and mill to feed Second cycle and basic school students under the school feeding programme  in the three regions of the North. Our produce can feed the three Northern regions and others because on daily basis we load ten articulators to Kumasi and Accra yet we still have more than enough on the farms.

The government should stop importing rice and support farmers with the needed inputs, facilities and ready market so as to produce more rice to feed Ghana and even export.” Mr. Adawine noted.

Mr. Adawine said the situation has reduced their bargaining power with aggregate buyers who now buys a bag of rice at between GHC180.00 to GHC200.00 hitherto went for between GHC230 and GHC240.00.

He also urged the government to urgently support farmers at the area with combine harvester machines, milling machines and storage facilities to optimize the production.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Tono rice farmers fear loss of 400,000 tonnes of produce appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.