Farmers in the Upper West Region have commended government’s policy on agriculture, especially technology transfer by International Fertiliser Development Centre, a non-governmental organisation.
They claimed it would bridge the gap between farmers in the country and help them have access to modern farm inputs and practices.
The farmers stated that the distribution of improved seeds and other farm inputs like tractors had facilitated their farming activities and ensured high yield.
The participants included leaders of farmer groups in the various districts across the region, individual farmers and stakeholders in agriculture who came together to analyse the impact of the project that sought to introduce improved seeds and mechanised ways of farming.
A maize farmer, Ms Memunatu Abdulai from the Daffiama-Busie-Issah District said they were often discouraged from accessing government agriculture interventions because of the distances they had to cover from their respective communities to the points of distribution which was mostly at the district capital.
“However with the ATT, a distribution van is dispatched with whatever is needed to be given us and we get them right on our farms and in our communities,” she stated.
With the project ending after December 31, 2018, the farmers urged government to adopt the distribution policy in order to sustain their gains.
Highlighting other success stories of the project that was implemented in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, the Chief of Party for ATT, Mr Taylor Salifu Musa said the distribution of improved seeds to farmers promoted agricultural activities as they yielded better than the local seeds.
“ATT for the last five years has been promoting agriculture through constructive research on building capacities of farmers with informed policies”, he explained.
Mr Musa said the project has constructed three modern seed laboratories in northern Ghana and also made available enough machinery to make farming easier and satisfying.
He called on government to adopt techniques like using distribution vans to reach out to farmers with benefits such as fertilisers and seeds especially under the planting for food and jobs programme.
BY LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
