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.
