Farmers told to adopt new farming methods

Farmers have been advised to adopt and practice new farming techniques to increase productivity for improved income for their families.

Professor Samuel Adjei-Nsiah, Country Coordinator of N2Africa Project of the International Institute for Tropical Africa (IITA) said about 85,000 farmers are being introduced practically on new farming techniques, which would help them improve yields of leguminous crops.

He said farmers must introduce inoculants into the cultivation of soybean, cowpea and groundnuts because the product increases the yields of these crops due to its positive chemical compositions.

Prof. Adjei-Nsiah was addressing one out of 50 farmers’ groups at Bunglung in the Savelugu/Nanton municipality on Thursday after inspecting soybean demonstration fields with the farmers.

The IITA and URBANET, both non-governmental organizations, are implementing N2Africa project with funding from the Bill and Melinda Foundation, where farmers are being introduced to the application of inoculants and phosphorus fertilizers on their farms to ensure good production and food security.

The $20 million project, which started in 2014, is also being implemented concurrently in Nigeria and three other East African countries.

Prof. Adjei-Nsiah said Northern Ghana has very poor soil fertility, thereby giving poor yields after harvest, noting that, the introduction of the new organic material and the application of good agronomic practices would improve yield.

He advised the farmers to cultivate more leguminous crops to improve the nitrogen content on their farms and boost the fertility of the soil for expected results.

He said the project had a strong collaboration from research scientists and other partners, who would ensure that the objective of the project was achieved.

Mr Jibreel Mohammed Basit, Project Officer of URBANET said Northern region has a huge potential for the cultivation of soybean, noting that, URBANET was responsible for technology transfer in the Savelugu Municipality and has extended technology to 1,500 farmers growing soybean, groundnut and cowpea.

Mr Zakaria Mohammed Nmaltahama, a beneficiary farmer commended the implementers of the project, stressing that, the transfer of the knowledge gained from the demonstration fields had given him hope that his farming activities would improve.