Farmers in Akwapem North District Receive Training on On-Farm Conservation of Underutilized Root and Tuber Crops
In a conscious effort to ensure food and nutrition security and resilience to the effects of climate change, a one-day intensive training on sustainable on-farm conservation of neglected and underutilized root and tuber crops was held for selected farmers in Koforidua, Eastern Region. The training, organized under the Community Seed Banking (CSB) project, aimed to help farmers conserve these crop species on their farms to sustain their provision of food and nutritional needs.
The workshop, organized by NUS Network Ghana and supported by the Agricultural Consular Department of the Netherlands Embassy in collaboration with Bioversity and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), drew thirty-five participants from Adawso, Mangoase, and Tinkon in the Akuapem North District. The participants were trained in the sustainable production and conservation of key root and tuber crops, including cassava, plantain, yam, sweet potato, taro, cocoyam, and tiger nuts. They were also informed about the challenges of on-farm conservation of crop varieties and measures to overcome them.
During a media engagement, Dr. Daniel Nyadanu, Coordinator of NUS Networks Ghana, explained that on-farm conservation is the sustainable management of genetic diversity of locally developed traditional crop varieties by farmers within traditional agricultural, horticultural, or Agri-silvicultural systems, also known as in-situ conservation. He emphasized that this practice would create crop diversity in the Akwapem North District, promoting food security and preventing the erosion of genetic resources from agricultural landscapes. By using their own methods, farmers can maintain the diversity of crops within their local environments, helping stabilize the food system.
“By sustainably conserving these underutilized root and tuber crops, farmers in the district can supply Koforidua Township and Accra city with necessary food resources,” Dr. Nyadanu said. He highlighted the importance of on-farm conservation and management of root and tuber crops to food security, noting that these crops cannot be conserved in a seed bank or structure and must be conserved in their natural environment under a Community Seed Banking procedure. This intervention is timely given the prevailing climate change scenarios and their negative impact on agricultural productivity. Dr. Nyadanu indicated that the program would be expanded to other districts and regions in Ghana to achieve national food and nutrition security.
Dr. Richard Adu Amoah, a resource person and member of NUS Networks Ghana, noted that sweet potato is a versatile and important crop for food security, with its storage root rich in dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidant compounds. On-farm conservation of sweet potato ensures greater accessibility to genetic diversity, lowers conservation costs, reduces vulnerability to losses, and allows sustainable management.
Mr. Prince Pobee, another resource person and member of NUS Networks Ghana, stated that many indigenous plant species have been lost due to lack of conservation, underutilization, and mismanagement. He indicated that the workshop educated farmers on how to conserve these important crop resources on their farms. While establishing a community seed bank or structure is commendable, it is necessary to undertake activities that help farmers understand the modalities for conserving crop varieties, especially root and tuber crops, on-farm.
A participant, Elder Emmanuel Martey, the District Best Farmer for Akwapem North, commended the organizers for the workshop, saying it has bridged their knowledge gap towards sustainable conservation of crop varieties on-farm and for higher productivity.
Source: Contributor
About Author
