A two-day intensive training workshop has been organised for about 50 agricultural input dealers in the Ashanti Region to deepen their knowledge and enhance their abilities to provide safe and right inputs for farmers.
The training was put together by CropLife Ghana and Farm Wallet with financial support from the Alliance for Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA).
Participants were taken through how to identify counterfeit and illegal pesticides, reading pesticides labels, reading toxicological bands, pesticide mode of action and handling empty containers.
Again, they were taken through pest management resistance, integrated pest management, types of pesticides and formulation, and transport and storage of pesticides.
Mr Rashad Kadiri, Executive Director, CropLife Ghana, speaking at the opening of the training at Ejisu, near Kumasi, explained that, per the agricultural value chain, input supply was very critical for the success of crop production.
“For production to be sustained and promote food security, we need to streamline input supply and delivery systems through training.
This will enable agri-input dealers understand the products are giving out and be able to give their services to farmers to apply those products in a safe and responsible way enhancing production and food security,” he explained
Mr Kadiri indicated that, the training was part of the AGRA Project aimed at promoting rice production, processing, and marketing in Ghana, adding that “for us as a country to be self-sufficient in rice production, we need a systematic and robust input delivery channel.”
Similar training programmes, according to him, are expected to take place in the Northern, Bono, Volta, and Ahafo Regions for agricultural input dealers as part of the AGRA Project on improving rice production.
He said CropLife had continually engaged beyond agri-input dealers, training stakeholders including immigration and customs officers to be able to identify wholesome agrochemicals and other inputs that come into the country.
Mr Adam Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer, Farm Wallet, believed that the training would benefit the input dealers more especially, when Farm Wallet had a digital platform of about 10,000 farmers engaged in varied agricultural transactions.
He said Farm Wallet was converting the normal village savings and loans platform into a digital version, where farmers could come together and lend among themselves to support their production.
GNA
