The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI) has trained seed producers on the effective hybrid maize and soybean seed production techniques and certification guidelines.
The two-day training, held at Nyankpala in the Northern Region, formed part of USAID Ghana Inclusive Agricultural Transformation Programme (GIAT) supported by USAID Ghana in partnership with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which sought to build the capacities of seed producers in effective hybrid maize and soybean seed production.
The training was to improve the technical capacity and efficiency of seed producers in hybrid maize and soybean seeds production in Northern, Northeast, and Upper West Regions.
A total of 21 seed growers comprising 20 males and a female from 17 seed companies benefited from the training.
Dr Gloria Boakyewaa-Adu, Project Leader of GIAT, who spoke during the training, said the choice of seed to plant was the most major decision a farmer had to make during crop production.
She said only 10 per cent to 25 per cent of farmers in the country planted the certified seed of legumes and cereals until the recent introduction of the government’s planting for Food and Jobs programme.
She said regardless of the demonstrated advantages of hybrid maize over Open Pollinated Variety, most farmers still cultivated the latter due to the low availability of hybrid maize seed as result of low technical capacity of seed producers in the country to produce decent quality hybrid maize seed.
She urged stakeholders to support the government to improve farmers’ access to high-quality seeds of locally adapted hybrid maize and soybean varieties in the country.
