Farmers urged to create innovative platforms

Dr. Jonas Osei-Adu, the Lead Facilitator for the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development (PAIRED) project, has advised farmers to create innovative platforms to learn and share information to promote agricultural production.

He said such platforms would be one of the keys to facilitate and improve sustainable livelihoods among farmers in the country.

Dr. Osei-Adu gave the advice at Yepala Community, in the East Gonja District of the Savannah Region, as part of the PAIRED Project national training for farmers and researchers on innovative platforms in West Africa.

He said innovative platforms were effective measures to translate the available technologies into diverse socio-economic benefits and expand income for farmers.

He encouraged farmer groups to partner and interact with key industry players and utilize feedback on learning more on innovations through technology.

Ridwan Harun, the Extension Facilitator at Daffiama-Bussie-Issa, who spoke on behalf of some of the farmers, called on stakeholders to assist farmers to improve on sustainable quality seeds after the end of the PAIRED project next year.

Nana Asiedu Paul Pobi, the Extension Facilitator at Ejura and Sekyedumase Municipal, who represented a farmer group, stated that it was important for stakeholders to expand farmers' access to agro-inputs and technology to increase productivity and reduce poverty in communities.

The PAIRED project seeks to strengthen Africa’s largest Sub-regional research organizations to facilitate technology upscaling, and to increase the production and availability of quality agro-inputs in West Africa.

It started in 2017 and is expected to end in 2022 and is funded by USAID, to improve agricultural productivity, agro-input delivery system, its access, affordability, and availability, and to also adopt technological packages.

It also seeks to enhance crop varieties, integrated soil fertility, and integrated pest management practices to reduce challenges in the agricultural sector in West and Central Africa.