Two organisations partner to train farmers on quality grain production
One hundred and thirteen thousand maize farmers in the three regions in the north are being trained to improve on the quality of grains they produce.
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The selected farmers are being trained in phases, on best practices necessary for growing quality grains, harvesting, packaging and storage, to help reduce high levels of mycotoxins in maize to acceptable international levels.
To this end, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under its Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement Programme (ADVANCE), and Nestle Ghana have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a partnership for regular supply of high-quality agricultural commodities, especially maize from the trained farmers.
Terms of Reference
Under the agreement, USAID-ADVANCE and Nestle Ghana will work together to build the capacity of farmers in the three northern regions to ensure that they produce maize that meet Nestle’s quality standards.
The USAID-ADVANCE, which started three years ago and will end in 2018, supports farmers to increase their productivity and improve access to high end markets.
Under the partnership, USAID ADVANCE is training 1,000 trainers of trainers on agronomic, post-harvest protocols and good storage practices, developed by Nestle, to reduce the mycotoxins in upstream value chain.
The Managing Director of Nestle Ghana, Mrs Freda Duplan, speaking before the signing of the agreement, said it formed part of the company’s commitment under its Nestle Cereal Plan to ensure sustainable rural development.
“A key priority for Nestle under the cereal plan is to ensure that we source high quality raw materials by reducing the high levels of mycotoxins in cereal and to implement responsible sourcing of creams from farmer communities,” Mrs Duplan added.
Nestle Cereal Plan was supporting the company’s commitment to increase local sourcing as part of its Creating Shared Value (CSV) initiative.
Presently, it sources 100 per cent of cereals such as maize and rice from local farmers for its factory in the country.
She said the Nestle Cereal Plan aimed at enabling farmers to produce better quality grains which would generate higher revenue for them to help improve on their livelihoods.
Mrs Duplan said Nestle was committed to building healthier lives and inclusive communities.
Collaboration
The Chief of Party of USAID ADVANCE Project, Dr Emmanuel Dormon, in a statement, said the project was committed to developing mutually beneficial business relationships between commodity buyers and farmers, as well as create opportunities for farmers to sell their produce to high end industrial markets profitably.
“For USAID, achieving food security means having at all times, both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet dietary needs for a productive and healthy life,” he said.
He said the overall goal of USAID-ADVANCE was to increase competitiveness of the maize, rice and soybean value chains, by increasing productivity, market access and trade, as well as by strengthening local capacities.
“Thus we see this collaboration with Nestlé as an excellent opportunity and motivation for the smallholder farmers to further improve their agronomic and post-harvest management practices to meet the quality requirements of high end industrial users,” Dr Dormon added.