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.

The machine was part of products that was showcased on Friday by the University of Ghana’s Technology Development and Transfer Centre.

The newly developed technology is capable of boosting Ghana’s rice production to an average of about seven tons per hectare as against Japan and South Korea’s average of six tons per hectare.

[contextly_sidebar id=”qcrH2jXp8eo5WmVLVaWXV92g1zMqkO0s”]The one day exhibition was aimed at showcasing to Ghanaians and the world the Universities’ technologies developed by its students.

According to Dr.  Joseph Ofori, a research fellow at the University of Ghana, extending the technology to many farmers in the low lands will enable Ghana produce more than it is current producing capacity.

“We have about 800,000 hectares of low land for rice production and if we are able to produce a third of this area we should be able to get enough rice and even export,” he said.

“One positve aspect of this technology is that we don’t use heavy machinery but rather simple and afffrodqble machinery for production . In many of the low land areas and irrigated systems, usually bulldozers are used to clear and level the land. But this one it is simple machinery called power tiller,” he explained.

Appetite for imported rice
Ghanaians have over the years developed a voracious appetite for imported rice due to its dominance in the market as well as its perfumed nature.

Dr. Joseph Ofori noted that the preference of consumers is being incorporated in the newly developed rice production system.

“We don’t just produce any rice anyhow. We normally produce what they call fragrant or aromatic or perfume rice. We produce what is comparable to what is imported into the country. What we have been asking farmers to produce is very tasty and healthy,” he said.

Gov’t assistance to produce more rice machines

In his view, there is the need for government to assist rice farmers acquire more of the power tillers to expand their work as well as “help in the exploitation of underground water in places not close to water bodies for which this technology was developed.”

“About the processing bit of rice production we need factories. Ghanaians are very sophisticated when it comes to rice consumption . The rice should be good enough for them and shouldn’t have any foreign materials in them. So we need good rice mills to process them. If we so this and the rice is bagged well then we will see that the consumers are alright with it,” he advised.

One district one rice factory
Picking rice as a major commodity , Dr. Joseph Ofori was certain the country could possibly exploit the idea of one rice factory for each district across the country citing the vast array of lands available.

” In Ghana, from the north to the south, we have lands. In the Northern Region for instance we have a vast land which is called the flood plain which could be developed for rice production. And when it comes to the south, we have valleys. So, there shouldn’t be problem at all developing rice industry in each district,” he pointed out.

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By: Kumi Obed Afari/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post UG builds technology to boost rice production in Ghana  appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.