Researcher wants farmers educated on new cassava varieties
A researcher has called for the strengthening of the Research-Extension-Farmer linkages to educate farmers on the new varieties of cassava.
Dr Joe Manu-Aduening, a researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Crop Research Institute, said there should be a package for research findings for farmers to improve on their yields.
Dr Manu-Aduening was speaking at a day’s stakeholder’s workshop, organised by the Apex Farmers Organisation, on the theme: “The Cassava Mosaic Virus” in Accra on Thursday.
He said there was a break in the value chain, which indicated that messages sent did not actually reach the end users, adding that, farm sanitation was important in preventing farm diseases, which also produced low yield.
“When fertility is low, yield will also be low,” he said.
Mr Williams Wuredu Idris, BUSAC Fund Service Provider, called on government to review policies that would give enough attention to cassava, using the research for development approach to remove production constraints.
He said the industrial use of cassava must be researched into and encouraged, especially for the purposes of increasing the starch content to make it more suited for industry.
He called on farmers to improve on their farm sanitation, since poor sanitation was a major cause of the spread of farm disease.
Source: GNA