The Central Region has the potential to help increase the nation’s capacity for producing rice, according to Professor Lee Dong-Jin, President of the Dankook Institute for International Cooperation on Agriculture (DICA).
The potential of the Central Region to help increase the nation’s capacity for producing rice has been praised by Professor Lee Dong-Jin, President of the Dankook Institute for International Cooperation on Agriculture (DICA). He said that the region’s climate and soil were ideal for growing rice and added, “The transfer of Korea’s Advance rice production technology is likely to boost productivity, by nearly two times more.”
Prof. Lee discussed the Rice Value Chain (RVC) Improvement Project after leading a trainer-of-trainers workshop for district and regional agricultural extension officials. A four-year bilateral project to enhance and increase the ability of smaller rice farmers in the Central Region is called the Rice Value Chain (RVC) Improvement Project.
It is a partnership between South Korea and Ghana. The Gomoa East, Assin Fosu, Assin North, Assin South, and Twifo Atti-Morkwa districts are among those who would benefit from the $8 million that the South Korean government has contributed to the project.
As a result of the capacity building, farmers in the area would be more likely to embrace techniques for producing rice, according to Prof. Lee. He described the technology as including high-quality seed production, seed nursing, pest and disease control, post-harvest management, and marketing and branding technologies, among others.
According to Prof. Lee, the project’s objective was to enhance the standard of living for farmers in the area and the nation as a whole. He stated that the objective of the trip was to evaluate how the DICA project, which is being run on behalf of KOICA, is improving the rice value chain.
Prof. Lee added that he had seen how the initiatives being taken to enhance capacity as well as other forms of assistance could lead to a rise in the region’s rice production. The Central Region’s higher rice productivity will help farmers earn more money, Prof. Lee promised, adding that as the PMC chosen by KOICA, DICA will take duty seriously.
For 41 agricultural officers at the district and regional levels, he said that two programs on enhancing rice cultivation technology had been organized as trainer-of-trainers. “The officers were taught more productive methods for growing rice by Korean experts.
Some of the training themes include proper land preparation for rice cultivation, rice morphology and growth, seed production, pests and diseases control, post-harvest rice technology, and rice marketing, among others, he said.
Prof. Lee stated, “As president of DICA, my goal is that the officers will implement the professional knowledge obtained to support farmers in the better methods of rice production.” He was confident that the rice value chain project will raise rice productivity among farmers and boost their revenue. According to Prof. Lee, the project provided high-quality AGRA Rice Seed to 514 farmers and trained 324 farmers in the Central Region on enhanced rice cultivating techniques.
