Mpraeso (E/R), May 6, GNA - The Executive Director of Ghana Grains and Legumes Board (GLDB), Mr John Wobil, on Tuesday stressed the need for a long-term seed production and multiplication culture as a basis for the development of sustainable food security policy for Africa. He said agriculture would only remain meaningful and competitive part of African economies when sufficient resources were committed to the development of foundation seed varieties well-suited to the extreme African weather conditions.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Mpraeso, Mr Wobil said food security must have to be tackled from the perspective of the development of seed multiplication policy to boost production. He said there was still paucity or lack of knowledge on seed culture in much of the continent, although the survival of agriculture almost invariably depended on the design of good seed varieties to boost production.

He said foundation seed growing in many African countries including Ghana was usually treated as part of normal farming practices whereas the reality is that for food crops to be increased, seed production must be seen as a form of specialized farming.

Mr Wobil said the Government of Ghana, through various strategies, had been educating farmers to adhere to scientific standards when engaging in foundation seed production ventures. He said under the Affram Plains District Agricultural Development Project, for instance, his outfit was assisting the project managers to equip selected seed producers in techniques of seed multiplication as well as skills in detecting diseases and insects relating to cassava, yam and maize. The project, which is mainly funded by the African Development Bank, is to help some 70,000 in the district to boost their current maize acreage from eight bags per acre to 20 bags within five years time.