Expert advocates for smart agriculture to boost yields and food security
According to Aminini, improved seeds, when combined with modern agricultural technologies and best practices, can dramatically increase farm yields.
Joseph Aminini, a former Agricultural Officer in the Kassena-Nankana Municipal and Chief Research Assistant at the C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, has called on Ghanaian farmers to embrace smart agriculture practices to enhance productivity and ensure food security.
Speaking on the Big Mike Breakfast Show on June 3, Aminini highlighted the critical role of modern farming techniques, particularly the adoption of improved seed varieties, in boosting agricultural yields.
“We are preaching smart agriculture. We are asking the farmers to move away from old or recycled seeds, because the recycled seeds have been used for God knows how long,” he said. “Those seeds, agronomically, have lost their yields, so you cannot get the actual yield per acre when you use the old variety.”
Aminini emphasized that recycled seeds no longer possess the agronomic potential required for optimal crop performance. He explained that these seeds, often reused for years, lead to significantly reduced productivity, hampering efforts to ensure sustainable food supply.
Instead, he advocated for the adoption of smart, short-duration, and high-yield seed varieties.
“You want to be smart, so there are short varieties, or there are improved seeds that are able to breed what can give us eight to nine tons per hectare,” he stated.
According to Aminini, improved seeds, when combined with modern agricultural technologies and best practices, can dramatically increase farm yields. He believes this approach is essential for transforming agriculture in the region and building resilience against food insecurity.
He, therefore, appealed to farmers, policymakers, and stakeholders in the agricultural sector to prioritize investment in smart farming methods.
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