Local seed producers are largely overlooked by policy makers in the process to expand access to certified seeds. This is one of the findings of a new study into the access to quality inputs by Ghanaian farmers.
The study, which commissioned by the Peasant Association of Ghana (PFAG), was conducted by Professor Joseph Yaro of the Department of Geography and Resource Development at the University of Ghana and Joseph Teye, a senior lecturer at the same university, revealed that most Ghanaian farmers were not using improved seeds, or when they do, the seeds were not certified seeds. The effect of this is low productivity and poor yields, translating into a low financial reward for the farmer.
According to Professor Yaro, “The policy must look at expanding the seed system. ‘The private sector’ should include the farmer in the village who is producing the seed. It should not be only the big companies and what not. The periodic local market where farmers go in search for seeds is also the private sector, the market women selling are all private sector. So we need a more formalised private sector so that we have diversity.”
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