Undoubtedly, Ghana has embraced smart agriculture practices to simultaneously reduce the farmer’s burden and increase agricultural yields and its nutritional value.
Farmers in the developing world including Ghana are compelled to produce enough food to satiate the rapid growing population.
This task is made difficult due to unpredictable climate changes characterized by extreme weather events. But engaging science, technology and innovation is the most likely option to increase agricultural yields and foster economic growth.
Quite a number of agriculture technologies and innovations introduced in the country bears witness to how Ghana is ready to grow harvest and distribute sufficient food to cater for the 50 million population projection in 2050.
Firstly, ensuring improved soil health that sustains crop growth through technology is one laudable approach that suggests that Ghana is on the road to adequately face the future.
For example, the soil research institute (SRI) of the council for scientific and industrial research (CSIR) introduced a cassava-cowpea strip intercropping system to improve soil health. This is a system where two or more crops are grown at the same time in different strips to increase productivity, enhance soil health and improve income.
According to the project manager, Dr. Edward Yeboah “With this integrated soil fertility management option that we are promoting, farmers can harvest as much cowpea yield as as 2.4 bags per hectare and cassava in the range of 40-50 bags per hectare.”
Another element impacting income and commodities yield is access to vital agricultural information through mobile phone technology in the country.
One such product is the Farmerline application which uses mobile phone to educate and sensitize local farmers. Farmerline technology, an international award winning (WSYA) app has contributed immensely to empowering smallholder farmers in the country.
The technology, since its invention in 2013, has successfully reached over 200,000 small-scale farmers in Ghana and across other West African countries.
With just a mobile phone, a farmer is updated on weather forecast, market prices, new farming techniques, agrochemical applications and financial information via text message or voice message.
Farmerline’s latest assessment revealed that farmers that have used its services for an entire season have increased productivity and consequently increased income by as much as 55.6%.
Moreover, the savannah young farmers’ network, a farmer based non-governmental organization has implemented the Audio Conferencing (a VoIP application) for Agricultural Extension service with the aid of a mobile phone, a mobile network service, audio conferencing system and a portable speaker to enhance communication flow.
This initiative aims mainly at smallholder farmers with participatory, demand driven and market oriented Agriculture Extension Services.
It connects farmers with Agricultural extension officers, researchers, agronomist, veterinary officers etc; where these technical officers provide farmers with the much needed Agricultural extensions services and others agricultural value chain actors to enhance farms yields
Through the initiative, farmers have received technical guidance, good agronomic and animal husbandry practices, post-harvest management, climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives leading to a significant increase in commodities like maize, rice and soybeans.
Also reported is an average increase of 1.83 mt/ha for maize, 2.71mt/ha for rice and 1.90mt/ha for soybeans which has immensely increased the profitability levels of farmers.
Feed the future USAID Agricultural Technology and Transfer Project is yet another revolution breaking barriers in the agricultural sector.
This is a five year project (2013-2018) which aims to make available appropriate and affordable technologies to improve the competitiveness of maize, rice and soybean in northern Ghana.
In an effort to release farmers from labour and time constraints in food production processing, the implementing agency of the technology transfer project introduced a simple maize shelling machine which is less labour intensive and time saving.
It is mounted on a bicycle, and as the user pedals the bicycle, the machine shells the maize inside its compartment. Additionally, it charges multiple cell phones at the same time.
With the maize sheller bicycle kit, a farmer can shell 90kg sack of maize in 40 minutes and 10 to 15 sacks per day.
So far, the program has helped 23,500 farmers to apply technologies and management practices on about 18,683 hectares of land. This increased agricultural products sales of farmers by US $ 12.8 million as at 2014.
Rene Haveman, Managing Director at TERRA AGRIC INTERNATIONAL BV, explained that technology is a key factor in the agricultural sector because it improves yields within a shorter time frame, and that brings about competitiveness.
According to him, technology serves a purpose and understanding the purpose measures its effectiveness. However, educating farmers on how to use technology in farming would always be a key to agricultural success in Ghana
He added that, “technology is perfect when it is used on the right scale, with the right people”
A recent report by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), titled “food security in a world of natural resource scarcity” has revealed that “agricultural technologies used in combinations tailored to the crops grown and regional differences could make more food affordable- especially for those at risk of hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.” Mark Rosegrant, lead author of the report and Director of IFPRI’s Environment and Production Technology Division.
IFPRI profiled 11 agricultural technologies and practices that can significantly reduce food prices and food insecurity in developing countries; namely, crop protection, drip irrigation, drought tolerance, heat tolerance, integrated soil fertility management, no-till farming, nutrient use efficiency, organic agriculture, precision agriculture, sprinkler irrigation and water harvesting.
It said a combination of these technologies and practices could reduce food prices by 49% for maize, 43% for rice and 45% for wheat due to increased crop productivity.
The agricultural sector is the largest source of employment in Ghana and is dominated by smallholder farmers mostly illiterates.
However there is the need for even more agricultural education to ensure that farmers are able to use agricultural technologies to ensure maximum food production in the future.