CSIR Scientists Introduce 4 New Rice Varieties To Farmers In Eastern Region

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In an effort to help Ghana achieve rice sufficiency, the CSIR organized a field day at Ankaase on October, 29, 2019 to introduce four new rice varieties and good agricultural practices to farmers and extension officers in Atiwa East, Atiwa West, Fanteakwa South and Fanteakwa North districts of the Eastern region.

The new rice comprising of CRI-Dartey, CRI-Kantinka, CRI-Emopa, CRI-Mpuntuo are amongst six varieties developed by CSIR-Crops Research Institute and its partners in 2017. Dr. Maxwell Darko Asante who lead the team to release these varieties collaborated with Dr. Matilda Bissah of the CSIR-Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute to introduce these varieties to farmers and extensions officers in the Eastern region of Ghana.

The unique attributes on the varieties include high yield, good taste and tolerance to the common diseases of rice in Ghana.

In addition to the varieties, the Scientists demonstrated to good agricultural practices such as proper levelling & bunding of paddy fields, nutrient management, pest control etc. to the farmer and extension staff. Dr. Maxwell Asante said that the only way for Ghana to become sufficient in rice production was farmers to adopt improved varieties and good agricultural practices. He also encouraged Ghanaian entrepreneurs to invest in production, milling and marketing of domestic rice to make the Ghanaian rice industry competitive.

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Dr. Matilda Bissah, who led the introduction of the new varieties into the Eastern region encouraged the farmers especially women in Agriculture to take up the task to help bridge the gap between rice imports in the country.

CRI – Emopa

The farmers were very much enthused with the demonstration as they were ready to adopt the new varieties and the good agricultural practices they saw.

Background

Rice has become a major staple in Ghana. The consumption of rice is increasing faster than any other crop due to rapid urbanization and changing diets. However, there is a big gap between the demand for rice and the volumes produced in Ghana resulting in a huge import bill. Currently, the annual consumption of rice in Ghana amounts to about one million metric tons (milled rice) of which about 60% is imported. There is therefore the need to increase rice production in the country in the order to achieve self-sufficiency and save the millions of scarce foreign exchange spent on rice imports every year. Even though, Breeders have developed rice varieties with an average yield of 6 MT per hectare, yields on farmers’ fields range from about 1.5 – 4.5 MT. The huge yield gap is due to the poor agricultural practices adopted by farmers. The introduction of good agricultural practices and improved varieties will increase rice production in the Ghana and help the country to become self-sufficient in rice production.
This work is part of project lead by West Africa Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana and CSIR-Crops Research Institute with funding from Africa Union and the European Union. Collaborating institutions include the CSIR-Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, CSIR-Savannah Agricultural Research Institute, Institute de l’Environement et de Recherches Agricoles, (INERA), Burkina Faso and Ministry of Food & Agricuture, Ghana.