Multi-sectoral stakeholders visit NARI farms

Officials of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and other stakeholders including representatives from the Office of the President, Ministry of Finance, and parliamentarians on Tuesday embarked on a three-hour field visit to NARI farm sites in Banjulinding, West Coast Region.

The field visit was to accord the team the opportunity to visit, assess the performance of various trial farms and discuss shortfalls, constraints, issues affecting agricultural production and productivity, and carve a way forward.

The delegation was led by the director general of NARI, Ansumana Jarjue, a seasoned researcher who in 2004 won an award by West African Rice Development Agency  (WARDA) for the best scientific paper presentation at the biennial regional rice research review conference in Accra, Ghana.

Speaking to reporters during the visit, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Ousman Sowe, said the information and knowledge that will be generated out of NARI trial farms would go a long way in informing what types of crop to cultivate in the country.

He said as the ministry in charge of climate change, they are “quiet interested” in what NARI is doing because there is a need to adapt to climate resilient policies and activities.

“So I think what NARI is doing is quiet important and worthy of emulation by all and sundry,” he said.  “At the Ministry of Environment, we are ready for more cooperation and collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture as we have a common vision.”

National Assembly Member for Jakadou Amadou Khan said he is impressed with what he saw at the NARI farms. 

The director general of NARI, Ansumana Jarjue, said despite the challenges, NARI has been registering success stories since 2014 to date due adoption of best practices.

The recent successes of the agency include dissemination of improved seeds, quality control pathways, integrated pest management, and production of fish and livestock feeds for enhanced aquaculture productivity.