KOPIA Ghana hands over 300 metric tonnes of rice seed to increase local rice production
The Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA) has handed over 300 metric tonnes of rice seeds to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for distribution to farmers across the country to produce rice.
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The rice seeds produced at the Dawhenya Irrigation project site under a KOPIA- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)partnership were aimed at scaling up Ghana's self-sufficiency in rice.
The four high-yield rice varieties, namely Crop Research Institute (CRI) Amankwatia, CRI Agyapa, CRI Agra and CRI Korea Mo were developed by CSIR with support from KOPIA and have been certified by the Ghana Seed Inspection Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The new varieties, according to the researchers, possess all the good traits of quality rice including all-year-round viability, early maturity, good milling quality, long grain and aromatic appeal to consumers on the market.
At the handover ceremony of the rice seeds at the Dawhenya Irrigation project site on March 5, 2024, the Director of KOPIA-Ghana, Dr Kim-Choong Hoe said Ghana currently imported 50 per cent of its rice requirements, stressing that it was not good for the country.
Dr Hoe said Ghana had a huge potential to bridge the gap between demand and supply of rice adding that with effective agricultural mechanisation, Ghana could improve rice production and further reduce the quality of rice imported to about 30 per cent.
Collaboration
He indicated that under a five-year project spearheaded by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) in South Korea, in collaboration with the CSRI, which commenced last year, KOPIA Ghana Centre was committed to producing 5,000 metric tonnes six varieties of rice seeds to enhance local rice production which would help Ghana conserve foreign exchange.
A Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of crops, Yaw Frimpong Addo, who received the rice seeds, expressed his excitement about the project stressing it would help improve and strengthen the rice seed system in the country.
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He gave an assurance that MOFA would ensure timely availability of quality seeds in the market to enable farmers to have access and to cultivate large acreages of land which would contribute to improving the quantity and quality of rice produced.
Rice revolution
The Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Park Kyongsig, said Ghana had favourable conditions for greater output in rice production such as vast arable lands, source of water, diligent and hardworking farmers, good climatic conditions, and natural valleys for the cultivation of the cereal.
He, therefore, expressed the optimism that the provision of the certified improve seeds and other research support to Ghana would enhance rice production and make Ghna an exporter of the product.
“Today, this may look like a small seed but it can be a seed of agricultural revolution in Ghana and to achieve this goal, my government will always be with the Ghanaians and the government,” he said.
The Director of the Food Research Institute of CSIR, Prof. Charles Tortoe, welcomed the partnership between KOPIA and the research institution in the development of the new seed varieties which, he said, were adaptable to local conditions and commended the Korea Government for its assistance in that direction.
The Director-General RDA, Dr Kim Hwang-Yong, commended Ghana, which he said was one of the seven African countries being supported under the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Programme(WEFP), stressing that in the case of Ghana, the implementation was the best model being rolled out.
He expressed RDA’s commitment to developing and disseminating the necessary technologies in the field of agriculture for sustainable agriculture and stable food supply.
Investment
The Chairman of Dawhenya Local Rice Farmers Association, Richard Martey Afleh, on behalf of the farmers, expressed satisfaction with the improved rice varieties which, he said, was attractive to consumers on the local market.
He said with the right investment in machinery and research, rice farmers would be able to increase production and meet the demands of consumers in Ghana.
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