By Rashid Mbugri, GNA
Nyankpala N/R, Nov. 02, GNA – The National
Variety Release and Registration Committee (NVRRC) of the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture (MoFA) has approved the release of five rice genotypes (varieties)
onto the market for cultivation and consumption.
The approved genotypes which included 929,
C93 ,Gbewaa Red, Waiqi, and Pac 801( a hybrid seed) , are not only drought and
disease tolerant, but also high in yielding, early maturing, have high
nutrition, and tolerant to climate change.
Members of the NRRC made the approval at the
weekend after inspecting the field trials of six proposed new rice genotypes
carried out by the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI) at Golinga, a community in the
Northern Region.
The approved rice genotype are expected to
be submitted to the MoFA for endorsement before they are officially released
onto the market and subsequently placed at the national seed bank.
Mr Seth Osei-Akoto, the Acting Director of
Crop Services at the MoFA, addressing the Committee after the field trip
commended the institute for their efforts in developing the genotype to help
improve on the seeds sector as well as increase food security in the country.
He said rice had become a staple leading to
increase in its demand and indicated that this had created a gap in its
production due to increase in the importation of rice.
He said the Ministry had therefore set an
agenda including the Planting for Food and Jobs programme to help improve on
rice production in the country in order to make the country self-sufficient in
its production by the years 2024 and 2025.
Mr Osei-Akoto said farmers were also
encouraged to adopt the production of the improved rice seeds to help increase
their yields and income.
He said even though there were some improved
rice varieties released on the market some years ago, it was worrying that only
two of the varieties namely “Gbewaa rice” and “Agra rice”
had been promoted.
He urged the seed breeders to come out with
very competitive improved varieties that could be promoted enough to make
farmers adopt them for cultivation and consumption.
Dr Samuel Oppong Abebrese, a Seed Breeder,
at the CSIR-SARI, who was also the research team leader said the institute had
been examining these genotypes for about eight years and observed that
“these proposed genotypes contained special features such as nutrition,
high yielding between 4.7 to 8.9 tonnes per hector, early maturing within 83 to
130 days as well as tolerant to drought and diseases such as blast, bacterial
leaf blight among others”.
He said the institute identified the six
genotypes through a breeding programme set up in 2010 to provide for farmers,
varieties that could cope with climate change situation such as flood and
drought, as well as produce high yielding and early maturity crops
He mentioned the six improved rice genotypes
to include 929, C93 ,Gbewaa Red, Waiqi, and Pac 801( a hybrid seed) and Swarna
2 ( a hybrid seed).
Dr Abebrese said the trials of these
genotypes were carried out in comparison with a check rice variety known as
AGRA Rice and cultivated in areas such as Nyankpala and Golinga in the Guinea
Savannah zone, Libi in the Transitional Savannah as well as Navrongo and Manga
in the Sudan Savannah.
Dr Abebrese, however, said the only rice
genotype which had not been approved by the Committee though it contained
special features compared to the other genotype was Swarna 2.
He said the committee explained that the
Swarna 2, rice genotype had already been registered and approved in Niger and
contained other issues they deemed not fit to be cultivated and consumed in the
country.
He gave the assurance that the institute
would put in place seed production and dissemination plans to ensure farmers
adopt these new rice genotypes.
Dr Stephen Nutsugah, Director for CSIR-SARI
said the rice genotypes would help boost the seeds sector, reduce importation
of rice as well as meet some demands of the niche market in the country.
He acknowledged the support from its
partners such as Banse Tropical Food Limited, USAID, Jiangxi Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, and AfricaRice among others.
GNA
