Salaga: The Soybean Breeding Team of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) has conducted an on-farm demonstration in Salaga to enhance the adoption of improved soybean varieties by local farmers. The initiative is part of CSIR-SARI’s ongoing efforts to bridge the gap between research outcomes and practical agricultural needs.
According to Ghana News Agency, the demonstration aimed to involve farmers in the development, testing, and selection of new soybean lines, ensuring that the research outputs align with their practical requirements. The event also sought to educate farmers on good agronomic practices and introduce them to high pod clearance, high yielding, and early maturing lines suitable for their local conditions. The goal was to encourage the use of improved technologies to boost productivity and sustainability.
The demonstration featured both mother and baby trials. Researchers managed the mother trial to exhibit improved agronomic practices, including row planting, proper spacing, and fertilizer application. Farmers were provided with seed packages for their own baby trials, allowing them to compare the new soybean lines with their traditional varieties.
In the past, many farmers in the area struggled with challenges such as low yields, poor soil fertility, and pest attacks due to limited fertilizer use and inadequate planting methods. The demonstration offered them practical strategies to enhance production and soil management.
Dr. Ophelia Asirifi Amoako, an Agronomist and Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-SARI, explained that the event was part of a novel approach called Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS). This approach allows farmers to be directly involved in evaluating and selecting improved lines developed by researchers, ensuring that new varieties meet their needs and preferences.
Through PVS, farmers had the opportunity to evaluate, rank, and score the lines based on traits such as yield, pod size, early maturity, pod clearance, plant vigor, biomass, drought tolerance, and resistance to pests and diseases. Dr. Amoako noted the need for farmers to adopt proper agronomic practices, including the use of fertilizers, row planting, and appropriate spacing.
Dr. Charles Nelimor, a Research Scientist and Soybean Breeder at CSIR-SARI, used the platform to showcase good planting practices and introduced two innovative soybean lines: one with high pod clearance for mechanized harvesting and another with early maturity traits to enhance resilience against climate change-induced rainfall variability.
Dr. Francisca Addae-Frimpomaah, Head of the Soybean Breeding Team at CSIR-SARI, emphasized the importance of farmers selecting lines based on yield, maturity, height, and other desired traits. The objective is to ensure that these varieties are cultivated and benefit farmers once released.
She appealed to the government to reconsider the ban on soybean exports, highlighting that the restriction has hampered farmers’ ability to sell their produce since bulk buyers, who previously exported, have ceased purchasing from them. Lifting the ban could create a market for farmers and motivate them to expand production.
Mr. Osman Suleman, a farmer who assisted in managing the field activities, described the exercise as crucial for the community. He observed that the demonstration inspired many farmers to adopt new practices after seeing the positive results in the field. He also noted that manual harvesting posed significant challenges, leading to delays and post-harvest losses. The introduction of high pod clearance lines offers a timely solution by enabling the use of mechanized harvesters.
Mr. Suleman and other farmers observed visible differences between the new lines and their local varieties, noting better growth, healthier plants, high pod clearance, and improved pod formation. They appealed to CSIR-SARI, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the government, and other stakeholders to support farmers with mechanization, particularly planters and harvesters, to enhance production efficiency.