Stakeholders in seed value chain production trained

Tamale, May 23, GNA - Stakeholders in the seed value chain production from the Northern Region have been trained on seed production, conditioning, packaging, storage, distribution and marketing to increase production of quality seed and make it available.

The move is to help reduce the challenge of lack of accessibility and affordability of certified seeds for farmers in the region.

A total of 21 Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Seed Companies, Dealers and Producers from the Northern Region participated in the training, organised by the Feed the Future Ghana Agriculture Technology Transfer (ATT) project in Tamale, on Friday.

Mr Michael Dockrey, the Chief of Party of ATT project, speaking at the opening of the two-day training said seed was a very important component of food production and yield increase.

He said farmers' access to quality seeds was critical in the country's quest to ensure food security, adding that, 'If farmers get quality seeds to sow, achieve good plant population and apply the right farming technologies, it can result in yield increase, which is the dream of every farmer'.

Mr Dockrey said one of the goals of the project was to help improve public and private sector capacity for demand-driven production of breeder seed, seed multiplication, certification and variety release processes.

Mr Cletus Achaab, the Senior Seed Advisor of ATT project, who took the participants through topics, including Seed Production Agronomy and field requirement for rice and maize, explained that, the best approach for seed producers was to regularly inspect their field to get a fair idea on how all the crops were growing.

He advised seed producers and farmers to transplant rice to get good plant population and increased yield.

Mr Vincent Afram, an official from the Ghana Seed Inspectorate Unit of MoFA, advised participants to ensure that all information on their labels were true, to enable farmers to make the right choice before purchasing.

He schooled them through practical seed germination, quality analysis, packaging, marketing and storage.

GNA