Deal decisively with post-harvest losses - Otupiri

Bolgatanga, Oct. 1, GNA - The Upper East is poised for a bumper crop harvest this season, Mr. Edmund Otupiri, Regional Director of Agriculture, said on Tuesday.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, Mr Otupiri cited the favourable rainfall pattern and the good early millet or "nara" harvest as positive indicators.

"For the first time in several years this region has sailed smoothly through a farming season without severe drought or an armyworm attack," he said, adding that the culmination of these factors has enhanced the prospects of a bumper harvest for farmers in the area, especially with major crops such as sorghum, maize, and late millet.

The Regional Director observed, however, that in spite of the imminent food glut, the area's perennial food crisis would not go away until the problem of post-harvest losses has been decisively dealt with. "Over the years, the trend has been that we produce abundant food during the farming season only to find ourselves faced with scarcity during the lean season," he said.

Mr. Otupiri indicated that the only way out of the current cycle of food insecurity was the development of a comprehensive strategy to process food at harvest time for storage and marketing during the lean season.

He said at one of their review meetings held recently at Sogakope in the Volta Region, Regional Directors of Agriculture resolved to give adequate attention to the issue of post-harvest management, as a step towards the attainment of food security.

He added that one of the main pre-occupations of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) now was the promotion of methodologies for the processing, packaging and marketing of agricultural produce. "This will add value to the produce and increase the income-earnings of farmers."

Citing the Tono irrigation facility as an example, Mr Otupiri said plans were afoot for large-scale processing of rice produced in the project area and packaging it in various sizes for distribution to other parts of the country.

To this end, MOFA is liaising with the Ministry of Roads and Transport, and the Department of Feeder Roads to improve access to food-growing areas in the hinterland for an efficient marketing network. Mr Otupiri urged livestock farmers in the region to help ensure the success of the National Livestock Development Project, saying that it would boost the country's livestock production and make meat protein affordable for the people.