Ghana’s SARI receives top British innovation award
A top British innovation award has been presented to the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute (SARI) and its partners implementing the Alliance for Green Revolution Africa’s (AGRA) Agriculture Value Chain Mentorship Project.
SARI and Country Wise Communications, Ghana, a private agency, jointly won two awards recently at the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Clarion Awards 2013, in London.
The awards were formally presented to Dr Stephen Nutsugah, Director of SARI by Mr Phil Malone, Director of Countrywise Communication-UK at a ceremony on Friday in Nyankpala in the Tolon district of the Northern Region.
He explained that the two institution won the Mobile Communication Category and the IVCA Chairman’s Gold Awards 2013 for developing a simple but effective and efficient innovation to disseminate information, especially on agriculture through the use of motor king video van to communities without electricity.
Dr Nutsugah who received the awards praised the inventiveness of the two Mr Raymond Vuol of Countrywise Communication Ghana and Dr Wilson Dogbe, a Senior Research Scientist at SARI, who teamed up to develop the technology to address major challenges of educating farmers in the hinterland to ensure that best practises are observed in the sector to boost production.
He explained that the team invested about $ 5,000 to buy a motor tricycle, carried out adaption and then fit it out with the equipment needed for showing agricultural videos in remote parts of northern Ghana.
“Two men were trained to operate the video van and travel from village to village and collect valuable data about audience feedback. It was surprising that we have received delegations from chiefs in some communities to come and thank the institute for supporting… farmers,” he said.
He said the motor-tricycle video technology is an innovation that should be adopted by other sectors of the economy as an effective and efficient communication channel, to engage the public to disseminate information and facilitate attitudinal change on developmental issues such as hygiene, sanitation and environmental protection.
Dr Dogbe said as part of the Integrated Soil Fertility Management component of the Agricultural Value Chain Mentorship Project, it has developed farming technologies which needed to reach farmers to enhance productivity, hence the development of the tri-cycle motor video technology.
Mr Vuol said within the first month of operation, 8,000 farmers had seen videos in their own language.
Ms Jane Karuku, President of AGRA, commended the initiative during her visit to Ghana.
Source: GNA