11,000 FARMERS TO GET IMPROVED RICE (PAGE 43, JUNE 16, 2010)

MORE than 11,000 farmers in 27 districts in the three northern regions are to benefit from 120 tonnes of improved rice seed to enhance its production in the area by the close of the year.
The seeds, valued at GH¢120,000, are being funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Famine Fund Rice Project.
The USAID Project Co-ordinator, Dr Wilson Dogbe, made this known at a Seed Fair at Yilonayili, a suburb of Tamale, to distribute the seeds to beneficiary farmers in the area.
He said the beneficiaries were being linked to agro input dealers to access rice seed and fertiliser at subsidised prices.
The fair was aimed among other objectives at boosting rice production through increased farmer access to rice seed, technology, fertiliser and market.
Dr Dogbe stated that the seed fair was a follow-up to the two-year Emergency Rice Initiative (ERI) project being implemented in four West African countries — Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal.
According to him, the ERI project started last year and was supposed to boost rice production in 10,000 farm households in each participating country.
“Domestic rice production is characterised by poor farmer access to production factors such as improved seed, technology for rice production, fertiliser and credit. Domestic rice production is trailing far behind demand and stands at about 30 per cent of demand,” he observed.
Dr Dogbe further said plans were far advanced to reach out to 20,000 farmers with rice production videos by the end of 2010.
The Northern Regional Co-ordinator of the ERI, Dr Ibrahim Atokple, said the objectives of the ERI programme was to boost total domestic rice production in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal by about 30,000 tonnes of paddy rice with a current market value of about $21 million.
He said the seed fair would among other objectives help the farmers source vital inputs at the right time during each production season.
“In terms of yield, over 90 per cent of the farmers realised more than 100 per cent increase, obtaining between 15 and 20 bags of paddy rice per half acre plots of farmland,” he stated.
Dr Atokple said this year, the ERI was targeting 6,000 farmers including those from Yilonayili.