[ad_1]
Indeed, the sale and planting of fake seeds has a negative impact on agriculture.
At the opening in Accra yesterday of a two-day workshop bringing together stakeholders from the seed sector in Ghana, participants warned that if the scourge is not stopped, Ghanaian agriculture could suffer in a disastrous way .
The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), in collaboration with USAID, AGRA and Market Matters Inc.
Although false seeds have been attributed to agri-food retailers, it has also been found that some seed companies are behind the production of counterfeit seeds.
Across the country, 3,153 agricultural input distributors sell seed to other sub-distributors or directly to farmers.
report
A team of researchers from a seed industry research initiative known as the Seed Access Index in Africa TASAI reported on the seed sector in Ghana during the workshop.
The report, which was based on research conducted between 2016 and 2017, badessed the economic structure and performance of the country's seed sector and badessed the enabling environment needed to create a sector of the economy. dynamic formal seed.
It focused on four cereal and legume crops, including maize, rice, soybean and cowpea.
According to the researchers, three of the crops, maize, rice, and cowpea, were selected because of their importance to food security in Ghana, while soy was included because it was an important crop of rice. report affecting the country's economic development.
Results
Presenting the results, one of the researchers, Mr. Samuel Yao Adzivor, said in 2016 that seven cases of fake seed sales have been reported.
"This figure will probably be underestimated because most cases of false seeds are not officially reported," he said.
Interaction with seed companies in Ghana revealed that on average they were not satisfied with the government's efforts to eliminate fake seeds in the system.
In addition, insufficient knowledge of the Plant and Fertilizer Act, 2010 (Law 803) and its regulations has been found by some law enforcement agencies and by some customs officers, hindered the prosecution of the perpetrators.
Seeds are the most renewable agricultural resource, but the quality of a seed is one of the determinants of agricultural success.
However, high-yielding seeds are expensive, a development that disadvantages poor farmers.
Launch of a new variety
The researchers also found that only two seed companies had commercialized new varieties in Ghana between 2013 and 2015.
Although the Seeds Regulation states that the publication process should take between 12 and 24 months, it has been determined that it takes an average of 42 months for new seeds to be released.
The reasons for this delay were attributed to delays in field trials, committee meetings and delays in determining a date for the presentation of results to the committee.
Seed import
It was discovered that only one company in Ghana imported targeted seeds mainly from South Africa and India.
Seed companies were not satisfied with the import process, which took about 90 days, mainly because of the light weight of the legal and regulatory import requirements, the authorized quantities and the processing time of applications. import permit.
Seed companies were also not satisfied with the inspection services provided by the Seed Inspection Division of Ghana, which has 32 seed inspectors in nine regions, with insufficient resources to to perform their task.
Regarding the availability of extension services, it was discovered that there were about 2,511 agricultural extension workers in Ghana, of whom only 27 were working in the private sector.
recommendations
The report recommended the need to invest in the quantity and quality of extension services, to promote the adoption of improved seeds and good cultivation methods.
He also urged Ghana to take advantage of regional trade opportunities as part of the ECOWAS Seed Harmonization Arrangements.
In addition, researchers have suggested that strategic interventions are needed at critical steps, including investments in research and breeding.
MoFA
Mr. Seth Osei-Akoto, Director of Crop Services at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), said in his remarks that research is essential to the development of the seed sector.
Under the Plant to Feed and Create Jobs program, the government provided subsidized improved seeds of maize, sorghum, soybeans and cowpeas, among other things, to smallholders.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, was working to further encourage farmers to use certified seed produced from crop varieties with the appropriate attributes and adaptable to agro-ecological zones by making seed certified accessible, affordable and available.
Crop Services Director John Wobil said the Seed Index Report would track the performance of the seed sector.
[ad_2]
Source link
