In order to have access to better rice seeds, rice farmer organizations in the Greater Accra and Volta areas in Ghana are pushing for the development of new rice types. The rice farmer organizations are Dawhenya Rice Irrigation Project, Kpong Irrigation Scheme, Aveyime Rice Project, and Ashaiman Rice Irrigation Project are the rice farmer organizations.
The call by the groups followed the development of 12 rice varieties including Jasmine-85, CRI-Enapa, CRI-Dartey, CRI-Amankwatia, CRI-Agyapa, CRI-Korea Mo, Legon-1, CRI-Onuapa, CRI-AgraRice, CRI-Kantinka, ISRIZ-6 and ISRIZ-7 by the Crop Research Institute of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with the Korea Programme for International Cooperation in Agricultural Technology (KOPIA).
During a visit to Dawhenya, close to Tema, demonstration fields for the 12 new rice types, representatives of the groups made the call.
According to Richard Martey Adler, chairman of the Dawhenya Local Rice Farmers, a center for rice production might be created thanks to the new kinds’ distinctive qualities that guarantee high yield and grain quality.
He emphasized that the new cultivars had efficient disease resistance and supplied the kind of grain quality to suit Ghanaian customers’ preferences, using CRI-Agyapa as a significant example.
He claimed that the new kinds were essential in ensuring Ghana achieves rice sufficiency within the next five years as a nation seeking to dramatically cut rice importation.
According to Joseph Kofi Akpafu, Executive Member of the Water Users Association which operates at the Kpong Irrigation Scheme, the new varieties were a relief to rice farmers who were burdened with accessing improved rice seed varieties. According to him, some rice farmers were in danger of going out of business as a result of disease and pest infestation.
He said, “These new varieties will benefit farmers because we are assured of quality rice grains that are in demand and give us an opportunity to expand production to meet the demand”.
The new types will assist address Ghana’s shortage of rice seed variants and enable farmers to grow different rice varieties depending on the type of field, according to Samuel Debrah, Project Manager of the Aveyime Irrigation Scheme. The ready-made information on the rice types, he said, would also help farmers make informed judgments and provide guidance to farmers regarding rice growing.
The new types are simple to mill, according to Catherine Norvi Sogbadzic, Rice Aggregator and Processor at Akuse, who also suggested that the rising demand for it would act as a spur to lessen rice importation.
Dr. Maxwell Darko Asante, Deputy Director of the CSIR-Crop Research Institute, stated that the new types featured characteristics that the majority of Ghanaian rice consumers favored, including early maturing, high yielding, good grain quality, and scent. Additionally, he pointed out that the new rice types had a quick maturation period of 105 to 115 days and were resistant to pests and diseases.
The goal of the KOPIA Ghana Center, according to Dr. Kim Choong-Hoe, is to provide 5,200 tonnes of enhanced rice seeds to Ghanaian farmers in order to improve rice farming. He mentioned that the center has purchased around 100 hectares of farmland to grow the new sorts of rice seeds.