CROP PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT
Center for Sustainable Local Development (CSLD) is supporting rural transformation through agricultural development. The center is supporting crop productivity improvement through a number of initiatives.
Since 2008, CSLD has been training farmers in best agronomic and cultural practices in crop production to boost yields and invariably farm incomes. This has become necessary because the agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder farmers who are not abreast with modern crop production technologies. So far, over 3,600 farmers have benefited from these trainings and research has shown a dramatic increase in maize yields from an average of 5 bags to 13 bags per acre among our farmers. This has greatly enhanced food security and household incomes in our operational districts.
- Setting up Demonstration sites and Farmer Field Days
The Center for Sustainable Local Development (CSLD) in collaboration with the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) set up and managed fifteen (15) on-farm demonstration sites and five (5) value chain demonstration centers in the Northern Intervention Zone in 2010. These centers served as sites for demonstrating and disseminating Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for farmers who applied them in their fields to maximize yields. CSLD reached about 3,600 farmers through participation in farmer field days. Thirty (30) demonstration plots have been set up in the 2011 cropping season.
- Production and Distribution of Certified Seeds
CSLD started supporting seed production and distribution as an NGO in 2009 cropping season producing and distributing about 300.0 tons of assorted seeds. In the 2010 cropping season, the organization produced approximately 350.0 tons of assorted seeds. During this period, CSLD came into contact with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and AGRA showed so much interest in the activities of CSLD. However, CSLD quickly realized that seed production is very expensive, seeds produced grossly insufficient in the face of ever increasing demand for improved seeds and therefore producing and distributing seeds as an NGO was not sustainable.
In view of these, CSLD established Lexbok Investments Ltd in November, 2010 to take over its seed production as a business and make seeds available, affordable and accessible to small-scale farmers in Northern Ghana. In recognition of CSLD good work, AGRA has provided a 3 year grant to support Lexbok Investments Ltd to reach out to smallholder farmers with hybrid seeds. CSLD provides technical, managerial and logistic support to Lexbok Investments Ltd. The company’s production targets for 2011 cropping season are; 358.2 tons of maize, 108 tons of cowpea, 150 tons of soyabean, 125 tons of sorghum, 101 tons of groundnuts and 582 tons of rice.
 |
| CSLD Young Ambassador, now Training Coordinator facilitating a session |
 |
| CSLD’s young ambassador and Trainer, Abdul-Rahman Awal facilitating a session. Observing is Mr. Joe Bapule (in cap) of the Northern Regional Implementation Committee. |
 |
| Mr. Issahaku takes farmers through the operation of a knapsack sprayer during technical training. |
Back to top....
|
