Kpongu (UW), May 29, GNA - The Emergency Rice Initiative (ERI) has organised a Seed Fair at Kpongu in the Wa Municipality as part of preparations towards this year's farming season. The objective was to create a linkage between small scale rice farmers and input dealers in the Municipality. On display were improved rice seed for distribution to farmers, who had registered to cultivate the crop this farming season and various agro-chemicals that would be used by the farmers to improve their yields. The ERI is a two year-project, which started on pilot basis last year with the aim of helping small scale rice farmers to improve upon their yields and quality of paddy rice produced. It is being undertaken in Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal with the support of USAID and the targeted regions in Ghana are the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.

Organisations implementing the ERI in Ghana include the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Catholic Relief Services and partners, International Fund for Seed Development and the Ghana Association of Agro Input Dealers. Dr Wilson Dogbe, a Coordinator of the project, noted that rice was gaining a lot of importance on the diet of most people with each Ghanaian consuming an estimated 30 kilogammes of rice annually, while production of the crop per head was only ten kilogrammes. With the increasing world prices of the crop coupled with the large deficit that had to be imported, the general consensus was that Africa had to boost domestic rice production and that had led to emergence of the ERI project to support in that direction.

Dr Dogbe said under the project, rice production would be boosted in 10,000 farm households in each participating country through access to agro-inputs like seed and fertilizer, access to best rice cultivation technologies and an enhanced farmers' access to the output market. He said last year, 800 small scale rice farmers in the region, were registered and linked to agro-input dealers in six districts to access improved rice seed and fertilizer at subsidized prices and also received training in rice management practices. Results showed that, farmers' rice yields improved by more than 50 per cent in most farms as compared to previous years, he indicated. Reverend Father Bennette Tang Bacheyie, Diocesan Projects Coordinator of the Wa Diocese of the Catholic Church said about 150 farmers from Kpongu, Boli and Charia communities in the Municipality have registered to participate in the project.

He said vulnerable farmers, who have been identified among them, would be supplied with free improved seed and subsidized fertilizer. Mr Duogu Yakubu, Wa Municipal Chief executive in an address on his behalf noted that the perennial bush burning in the North of the country was discouraging the investment community from putting their money into farming in the area and called for an end to the practice. He said the government was re-branding Agriculture to make it attractive to the youth. 29 May 10