Project to scale-up cowpea, groundnut production in UWR launched
Wa, July 16, GNA - A project dubbed: 'Taking Cowpea and Groundnut to Scale,' has been launched in Wa, to boost the production of the two leguminous crops, to improve household incomes and nutritional values among people in the Upper West Region.
The project is an initiative of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
It is in collaboration with national partners such as the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), value chain players and the private sector with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Taking cowpea and groundnut to scale in West Africa covers four target countries, namely, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.
In Ghana the project is being implemented in the three Northern Regions.
Speaking at the launch, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister, noted that the nutritional value and health benefits of cowpea and groundnuts, coupled with their contributions to soil improvement and overall sustainable agriculture production, made them important crops in the country, especially in Northern Ghana.
'The low input cost for the production of these crops makes them ideal crops for farmers in this region which is considered to be one of the poorest in Ghana,' he said.
Alhaji Sulemana noted that government policy geared towards commercialization of Agriculture would continue to invest in Agriculture, to scale up food and animal production, to boost and sustain the national economy.
He announced that as a result of prudent agricultural policies pursued by government, with support from development partners, Ghana was now self-sufficient in the production of most carbohydrate foods, such as maize, and starchy staples, such as cassava, yam, cocoyam, sweet potatoes and plantain.
'We are about 55 per cent self-sufficient in the production of rice, but the gap is closing every year, due to our Agribusiness policy that allows entry of both local and foreign commercial rice farmers into Ghana,' he added.
He commended USAID, IITA, ICRISAT and all development agencies whose efforts enabled Upper West Region, and Ghana as a whole, to make progress in reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Dr. Ibrahim Dzido Kwesi Atokple, Country Coordinator, USAID - Cowpea Project, disclosed that about 75 per cent of cowpea produced in the country came from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
He said it was for this reason that the three-year project was being implemented in 38 districts, that is, 20, 10 and eight respectively, in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions.
He noted that the project would spend about 140,000 dollars each year throughout the 3-year period of the project, to scale-up cowpea production to about 50 per cent.
Mr. Joseph Faalong, the Upper West Regional Director of MOFA, urged participants to discuss issues dispassionately, in order to come out with best strategies that would make the project a big success in the region.
GNA Wa, July 16, GNA - A project dubbed: 'Taking Cowpea and Groundnut to Scale,' has been launched in Wa, to boost the production of the two leguminous crops, to improve household incomes and nutritional values among people in the Upper West Region.
The project is an initiative of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
It is in collaboration with national partners such as the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), value chain players and the private sector with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Taking cowpea and groundnut to scale in West Africa covers four target countries, namely, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.
In Ghana the project is being implemented in the three Northern Regions.
Speaking at the launch, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister, noted that the nutritional value and health benefits of cowpea and groundnuts, coupled with their contributions to soil improvement and overall sustainable agriculture production, made them important crops in the country, especially in Northern Ghana.
'The low input cost for the production of these crops makes them ideal crops for farmers in this region which is considered to be one of the poorest in Ghana,' he said.
Alhaji Sulemana noted that government policy geared towards commercialization of Agriculture would continue to invest in Agriculture, to scale up food and animal production, to boost and sustain the national economy.
He announced that as a result of prudent agricultural policies pursued by government, with support from development partners, Ghana was now self-sufficient in the production of most carbohydrate foods, such as maize, and starchy staples, such as cassava, yam, cocoyam, sweet potatoes and plantain.
'We are about 55 per cent self-sufficient in the production of rice, but the gap is closing every year, due to our Agribusiness policy that allows entry of both local and foreign commercial rice farmers into Ghana,' he added.
He commended USAID, IITA, ICRISAT and all development agencies whose efforts enabled Upper West Region, and Ghana as a whole, to make progress in reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Dr. Ibrahim Dzido Kwesi Atokple, Country Coordinator, USAID - Cowpea Project, disclosed that about 75 per cent of cowpea produced in the country came from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
He said it was for this reason that the three-year project was being implemented in 38 districts, that is, 20, 10 and eight respectively, in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions.
He noted that the project would spend about 140,000 dollars each year throughout the 3-year period of the project, to scale-up cowpea production to about 50 per cent.
Mr. Joseph Faalong, the Upper West Regional Director of MOFA, urged participants to discuss issues dispassionately, in order to come out with best strategies that would make the project a big success in the region.
GNA