Sorghum farmers get support
Sorghum farmers in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and parts of the Brong Ahafo region are to benefit from a support programme in sorghum production.
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The sorghum value chain project, which aims at enhancing the capacities of the farmers by linking them to industry to boost their incomes is being supported by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Concern Universal, both international non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
According to the Country Director of Concern Universal, Juliet Lampoh, her organisation was concerned about the growing poverty situation of most farmers in the area following the lack of support and market for their produce.
She explained that sorghum production was a sector that had not received much attention even though it had the potential to empower farmers to reduce poverty. The director explained that it was for this reason that it decided to collaborate with other partners to develop the sector.
“Concern Universal works in partnership with other interest groups to challenge poverty and inequality, supporting practical actions that enable people to improve their lives and shape their own future,” Madam Lampoh indicated.
A programmes officer of AGRA, Samuel Sey, said though the incidence of poverty in the country was on the decline, it remained endemic in the north due to food insecurity and it was for this reason that AGRA was focusing on the agricultural sector, which is the mainstay of the people in the north.
Sorghum is the second most commonly grown cereal in the country with some 275,000 hectares under cultivation which is not enough to feed the industry.
A representative of Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd (GGBL), Stephen Mwinkaara, said the company currently imported to fill the supply gap and therefore, pledged his outfit’s support to the project.
GGBL has promised to purchase all the sorghum produced by the farmers in the project.
A representative of the beneficiary farmers, Abdul-Rahman Mohammed, expressed appreciation to their benefactors for their tremendous support and pledged to work hard to achieve the objectives of the project.