The EU Funded ReDIAL project is supporting women farmer groups with threshing services in the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipality in the Western North Region.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Mr Obed Erzuah, the Project officer at the ReDIAL office in Sefwi-Wiawso explained that Sefwi Wiawso Municipality was a cocoa, cereals and grains growing area which contributed to the food security in Ghana.
He indicated that the ReDIAL project was a four–year project funded by the European Union (EU) and being implemented by Friends of the Nation (The Lead), Tropenbos Ghana and the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Mr Erzuah explained that the project was supported by two private sector companies; SESI Technologies and SAYeTECH Company.
According to him, the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Food Agriculture has introduced new farming practices to reduce post-harvest losses among smallholder farmers through improved threshing in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality.
Mr. Erzuah stated that the project has introduced an innovative technology called the “Multi-Crop Thresher” to improve upon threshing of grains and cereals for marginalized farmers.
He said currently the project has supported Menewenyo women’s group with threshing services in Sefwi -Mempeasem in the Western North Region.
Madam Juliet Tornyie, the Chairperson for the women’s group said the group has been farming together since 1999 and they cultivate Maize, beans, cassava and cocoa.
She explained that they harvest a maximum of 10-20 bags of beans and maximum of 10-50 bags of maize each cropping seasons and indicated that they were excited about the support from ReDIAL for such a good project because in the previous years, they faced so many challenges in the threshing of their farm produces.
Madam Tornyie mentioned some of the challenges to include high cost of labour for threshing, post- harvest losses of grains, low yield, low market prices and poor storage facilities.
Madam Tornyie praised the ReDIAL project team for such a good intervention to help support marginalized farmers with improved threshing technology and as a result they were more productive and have increased food productivity.
Madam Tornyie further stated that the threshing activity was successful because they were able to obtain 20 bags of maize within some few hours and they did not encounter any post-harvest losses of grains and no high cost of labour and finally quality grains obtained was good, so they now have good market price.
She explained that now, they have good revenue and increased income by 45%, adding, “this is a vast improvement on our output; and we wish to receive more support from the ReDIAL project.”
By P.K.Yankey, GNA
