Nov 3, 2026
CSIR-SARI maize hybrids, including three vitamin A-rich yellow lines, held up through dry spells and late planting in trials in Upper East’s Bongo District.
New maize hybrids from the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute held up through late planting and dry spells in trials at Moshie-Daboro, in Upper East’s Bongo District, farmers and scientists said.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) planted the demonstration plots in late July 2026 on land the community normally uses for groundnuts. The work is funded by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) through the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation Phase II (TAAT II) Maize Compact.
Farmers saw five hybrids at the field day. Two white varieties, CSIR-SARIMAZ 4 and CSIR-SARIMAZ 5, are already released for cultivation. The other three, LY1409, LY2205 and EPVAH-34, are yellow hybrids bred to carry more provitamin A, iron and zinc. They have not yet been approved for sale.
Why the north needs both traits
Northern Ghana has more micronutrient deficiencies than the rest of the country. The 2017 Ghana Micronutrient Survey, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE in 2020, found that 20.8 per cent of children aged six months to five years lacked vitamin A. Deficiencies were more common in rural areas, in poor households and in the Northern Belt.
The weather is also getting harder for farmers. The Ghana Meteorological Agency’s National Climate Atlas projects that northern Ghana will warm faster than any other part of the country, and that the warming will be strongest between December and February. Inputs cost more too. Granular urea rose 53.7 per cent in March 2026, which has pushed CSIR-SARI to test fertilisers that need less nitrogen.
What the breeders found
Dr Isaac Kodzo Amegbor, a maize breeder at CSIR-SARI and Ghana lead for the TAAT II Maize Compact, said the two released hybrids kept growing well despite fall armyworm attacks on the demonstration fields. He told farmers that the yields depend on using the seed together with sound field practice and careful storage after harvest.
Dr Desmond Sunday Adogoba, the institute’s Innovation Scaling Specialist, said the hybrids coped with moisture stress, Striga weed and fall armyworm, the three main threats to maize across the north. Adding provitamin A, iron and zinc to a food that households already eat every day is a cheap way to improve diets, he said, especially for women and children.
Farmers compare plots
Andrews Atampugre, an agricultural extension officer with International Development Enterprises who helped set up the plots, said farmers could compare the new hybrids with their usual seed under the same poor rains. He said the hybrids showed good tolerance to Striga and fall armyworm.
Alayine Grace, a lead farmer at Moshie-Daboro, said the results had persuaded farmers to grow more of the hybrids once they are released. Abaabagre Halimatu, another farmer, said the yellow varieties could help rural women who need better nutrition during pregnancy and after childbirth.
In 2025, CSIR-SARI showed farmers other maize varieties in the Upper East Region. The yellow hybrids tested at Moshie-Daboro still need approval from the National Varietal Release and Registration Committee before seed can be sold to farmers.
Source:https://newsghana.com.gh
Nov 2, 2026
MoFA officials want a farmer-run seed bank in Gundoug, Upper East, to become a model for preserving indigenous crop varieties across northern Ghana.
Agriculture officials in the Upper East Region want a farmer-run seed bank in Gundoug, Nabdam District, to become a model for keeping indigenous crop varieties alive across northern Ghana.Access Services
Officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) made the call at a stakeholder meeting in the community. Two non-governmental organisations, Trax Ghana and The Beela Project, organised it to gather technical advice on their community seed programme. Extension agents, assembly members and the farmers who produce, collect and store the seeds also attended.
Alhaji Zakaria Fuseini, MoFA’s Upper East Regional Director, raised concerns about seed varieties brought in from outside the region. Some, he said, are poorly suited to northern soils and weather. When they fail to germinate, farmers lose a season’s harvest. He said stronger community seed systems would help farmers cope with less predictable rains.
How the system works
The Gundoug seed bank is a pilot. Robert Anaab Atiim, the project’s field coordinator, said it should be stocked with indigenous and locally adapted maize, sorghum, cowpea and vegetable seeds by the end of this farming season. Villagers have been trained in three roles: producing seed, collecting it and keeping it safe between seasons.Order Bulk Seeds
The project began in January 2024 with funding from The 11th Hour Project, a United States foundation, and SeedChange, a Canadian organisation. It covers 10 communities in the Upper East and North East regions. Its main public event is an annual seed fair in Bolgatanga. At the third fair, on 16 May 2026, 114 farmers took part in the exchange: 23 brought seed to give away and 91 took seed home.
Abena Offeh-Gyimah, who heads The Beela Project, has described Gundoug as a learning centre for neighbouring communities. She said many smallholders lack the skills to select and store their own seed, and called for support to build that capacity. Vincent Subbey, Director of Trax Ghana, said the work aims to protect biodiversity and farmers’ control over their seed.
A wider argument over seed
The project also backs farmer-led advocacy on seed laws, which places it in a long-running national debate. Parliament passed the Plant Variety Protection Act in 2020 to grant rights to breeders of new varieties. Food Sovereignty Ghana and other civil society groups argued that it restricts farmers’ freedom to save, exchange and sell seed. In May 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the group’s challenge to the law.
The government has maintained that the law still lets farmers save and replant seed of protected varieties. When the bill went to Parliament, the Attorney-General said farmers could keep that right within reasonable limits.
Trax Ghana and Beela have said their research found that several indigenous varieties of millet, sorghum, rice, beans and okra have already disappeared from local farms. NewsGhana reported on that research at an earlier Bolgatanga seed fair.
Nov 2, 2026
THE Ghana Agricultural Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET) has donated 1,000 bags of 10-kilogramme organic fertiliser to support the 42nd National Farmers’ Day celebration scheduled for December.
The donation is expected to support the recognition and reward of hardworking farmers, particularly young people engaged in agriculture, for their contributions to food production and national development.
Presenting the items to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra yesterday, the Lead Coordinator of GAFET, Mr Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, said the gesture was motivated by the need for individuals and organisations to complement the government’s efforts to reward farmers for their dedication to the agricultural sector.
He said he had been inspired by the contributions of patriots across the country towards the organisation of the celebration and decided to mobilise resources to support young farmers who would be honoured at the event.
Mr Odarteifio, who described himself as the incoming National Youth Organiser of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), said young people were looking for policies and initiatives that addressed their aspirations and created opportunities for their economic advancement.
He also noted that the donation was intended to encourage more young people to venture into agriculture and assure them that their hard work throughout the year was recognised and appreciated.
According to him, supporting farmers with agricultural inputs would help motivate them to sustain their efforts towards improving food production and strengthening the country’s agricultural sector.
Mr Odarteifio called on more young people to embrace organic agriculture, saying sustainable farming practices were important to the development of the agricultural sector.
Receiving the items on behalf of the ministry, the Chairman of the National Farmers’ Day Celebration Committee, Mr John Dumelo, expressed gratitude to Mr Odarteifio for the donation.
Source:https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh
Nov 2, 2026
National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Hajia Fati Forgor, has commended the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) for its work on developing the Food Recognition Assistance and Nudging Insights (FRANI) app to help improve the nutritional quality of meals served under the school feeding programme.
FRANI is a software application being developed by NMIMR to help assess the nutritional content of meals served to schoolchildren using photographs.
As Ghana joined the global community to mark World Food Day on Friday, 16 October 2026, NMIMR hosted a symposium at its premises under the theme, “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow.”
Speaking at the event, Hajia Fati Forgor expressed satisfaction with the FRANI app, describing it as a highly innovative initiative for the Ghana School Feeding Programme.
“When I heard Noguchi Institute was partnering with us to develop a nutrition manual, and then the FRANI app, I saw it as a highly innovative step for Ghana School Feeding Programme. The app allows us to examine meals prepared for students to ensure they provide the essential nutrients children need.”
She further said NMIMR had developed the nutrition manual for the Ghana School Feeding Programme as a precursor to the FRANI app and supported the training of caterers and cooks across the country.
Hajia Fati Forgor added that, with guidance from NMIMR, foods such as spaghetti and noodles have been removed from the approved school feeding menu.
“We discourage caterers from preparing meals that are not part of our indigenous foods. We have warned caterers who served spaghetti or Indomie to children because it is not on our menu.”
“We encourage them to prepare local foods like kontomire, ampesi, rice with palava sauce, and northern dishes like tubani and tuo zaafi,” she said.
She also highlighted the scale of the programme, saying it now covers more schools and children across the country with support from NMIMR and the government grant.
“Today, we feed 13,000 schools and 4.5 million children across the country. People ask, what can the government grant of GHS 2.00 per child do? I tell you, cumulatively, it is huge.”
“With Noguchi’s support, our caterers innovatively turn that little into a hot, nutritious meal for every child,” she said.
Source:https://univers.ug.edu.gh
Nov 2, 2026
The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has warned that a very strong El Niño event developing in the Pacific Ocean is likely to influence Ghana’s weather conditions into the first half of 2027, with the potential for hotter temperatures, prolonged dry spells and increased dust levels.
The Agency says the developing weather phenomenon could result in a hotter, drier and dustier dry season from late November 2026, while the risk of sudden heavy rainfall and localised flooding will persist in parts of southern Ghana.
El Niño is a natural warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that influences rainfall and temperature patterns across the world, including West Africa.
According to GMet, observations from its monitoring systems and international climate institutions, including the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), indicate that the event is intensifying.
It is expected to peak between now and January 2027 before gradually weakening during the first half of the year.
GMet says Ghana’s experience with previous El Niño episodes, particularly the very strong events of 1982/83, 1997/98 and 2015/16, as well as the moderate 2023/24 episode, highlights the country’s vulnerability to rainfall variability and its effects on agriculture, water resources, hydroelectric power generation and public health.
The Agency forecasts below-normal rainfall across most parts of the country, although some areas are expected to record above-normal rainfall.
These include inland parts of Greater Accra and Central regions, south-western parts of the Volta and Eastern regions, parts of Bono and Savannah regions, and north-western parts of the Upper West Region.
Warmer-than-average temperatures are also expected across most parts of Ghana, although cooler-than-average conditions are anticipated in the south-west and some parts of the Volta Region, particularly between Ho and Kete Krachi.
For the dry season, expected to run from late November 2026 to March 2027, GMet projects drier and dustier conditions in many areas, increasing the likelihood of bushfires, water shortages and stress on crops and livestock.
The Agency has also warned that the hot, dry and dusty conditions could increase the seasonal risk of meningitis, particularly in northern Ghana.
It expects the period between February and April 2027 to record the highest heat stress, especially in the northern parts of the country.
GMet, however, says the onset and performance of the 2027 rainy seasons remain uncertain and will continue to be monitored as new climate information becomes available.
As part of precautionary measures, the Agency has advised farmers to follow weather updates and agricultural advisories from GMet and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture before planting or replanting.
Farmers have also been encouraged to consider early-maturing and drought-tolerant crop varieties where appropriate and avoid bush burning.
Residents in northern Ghana have been urged to minimise exposure to dust and seek immediate medical attention if they develop symptoms such as fever, severe headache or a stiff neck.
The general public has also been advised to drink sufficient water during hot periods, avoid strenuous outdoor activities during the hottest hours of the day and check on vulnerable people, including older persons, young children and those who are unwell.
GMet further urged households and communities to conserve water and rely on official sources for weather information and updates.
Despite the forecast of generally below-normal rainfall, communities along the Volta River and residents of flood-prone, low-lying urban areas have been cautioned against lowering their guard.
The Agency says short, intense downpours and localised flooding remain possible, urging residents to continue following safety advisories from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Volta River Authority (VRA).
GMet says it is monitoring the El Niño event daily and will provide updated weather outlooks as conditions evolve, alongside its regular ten-day agricultural bulletins.
It will also collaborate with stakeholders in disaster risk management, energy, agriculture, water resources, health, local government, transport, minerals and maritime sectors to ensure forecasts are translated into timely, location-specific preparedness and response measures.
Source:https://www.myjoyonline.com
