Ghana’s promotion
of High Quality Cassava Flour has in the past four years helped open
up markets for cassava farmers to
improve incomes and reduce poverty levels.
According to Dr. Abdulai Baaba Salifu, Director-General of the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),
over 45,000 tons
of surplus cassava from farmers’ fields had been moved into the new
markets within the
cassava value chain, as at March 2012.
The CSIR-Food
Research Institute (FRI) in collaboration with the International Institute for
Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
developed agro-processed foods under
the “Cassava:
Added Value for Africa”
Project to serve as
wheat flour substitute for the production of bread, pastries and in plywood
production amongst others.
Dr.
Salifu says this has created “an overall income of over GH¢1.5 million
for close to 15,000 cassava farmers, which translates to an extra income of
about GH¢100 per farmer”.
He was speaking on “Enhancing Food
Security and Regional Integration through Research and Development” at a Regional
Workshop on Root and Tuber Crops, organized under the West Africa Agricultural
Productivity Programme (WAAPP) in Kumasi.
The
World Bank in May 2012 approved a US$120 million financing for the Phase II of
the WAAPP to improve food production by spreading new agricultural technologies
in Ghana and Senegal.
The
program will finance technology exchange programs, align national priorities
with regional ones to increase regional cooperation in food technology
generation, and support a greater push for technology adoption and
dissemination.
In
Ghana, the CSIR’s Crop Research Institute executes the research component
whilst the Ministry of
Food and Agriculture (MOFA) disseminates the research
findings.
WAAPP Phase I helped boost research
and extension activities, bringing together research and educational institutions,
industrialists, extension workers, farmers and consumers to a common national
objective in Ghana and in the sub-region.
Crop Scientist, Prof. S.K.A. Danso expects
the second phase of the WAAPP to stress on getting the improved technologies to
majority of farmers, “visit them and make sure they are adopting the technology
and once you extend to some farmers who accept it, other would learn from them”.
“Our populations are increasing but
the land area of the country remains the same with portions deteriorating due
to human activities. With the recent phenomenon
of climate change and its adverse effects – flooding, drought, heat and related
outbreak of pests and diseases – it takes demand-driven research to develop
technologies and products to meet the demands of our farmers, processors and
consumers. This is where CSIR comes in”, noted Dr. Salifu.
Minister of Food and Agriculture,
Kwesi Ahwoi, believes the effective coordination of research efforts within the
national and international agricultural research system is very important to
ensure that scarce resources are applied to priority research.
Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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