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| Farmserve Africa Farmer to Farmer volunteer report Improved maize production through IPM for striga Trip dates june 1 to july 16, 2003Part 1: striga(striga activities conducted from june 17 to july 16, 2003)Conrad Bérubé |
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Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI)
Box 52
Tamale, Northern Region
Ghana
Attention: A.B. Salifu (Director)
Victor Clottey (on farm agronomist)
Mashcek Abdulai (maize breeder)
James Kombiok (on farm agronomist)
Nicholas N. Denwar (soybean breeder)
Dear Sirs:
I am a volunteer with the Farmer to Farmer program funded by the united states department of agriculture being hosted by opportunities industrialization centres-Tamale (oict). The program offers technical assistance in the form of volunteers who hope to share some small knowledge in their areas of specialization with the intent of assisting in agricultural development and to serve to bring knowledge about Ghana back to north america (which, it is hoped, will stir interest and engender continued support for international aid programs).
One of my projects has been to investigate and make recommendations on means to increase yields of maize by mitigating the negative impact of the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica. I believe that the use of strains of maize that are resistant to Striga and the use of rotation crops of false hosts will be particularly valuable tactics in a strategy of integrated vegetation management targetting Striga.
I have been told that sari personnel have been evaluating soybean lines with enhanced false-host properties for Striga control. similarly, it is my understanding that sari has conducted some trials of Striga-resistant maize as well. we are hoping that sari may be in a position to provide seed for on-farm trials/demonstration for next season. we would therefore like to plan for the delivery to us by early may of 2004 of sufficient seed for 10 farmers to plant 1 acre each of enhanced soybean and an additional lot of seed for 10 farmers to plant 1 acre each of Striga-resistant maize. as I will very shortly be returning to my normal duties for the province of british columbia, please direct communication on the subject to Sammy Arku-Kelly, the Farmer to Farmer program manager for OIC Tamale. could mr. Nicholas denwar, with whom Samuel and I spoke on july 10, 2004 and/or mr. Mashcek abdulai please repond with directions on how we should proceed in this regard?
Thank you very much. I hope that your continuing efforts at improving the lives of rural Ghanaians meet with the greatest of success.
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Conrad Berube |
890 Eberts St |
Eddie Bryant
Farmer to Farmer volunteer
Dear Eddie,
welcome to Ghana! I hope you find your work in Ghana as interesting an enjoyable as I have found my own. I trust you have worked in the developing world before and will feel comfortable with the living conditions and challenges which will be dramatically different from those faced by farmers in north america.
I've heard through the grapevine that you will be working with a soybean cooperative on ways to increase production and marketing concerns with respect to this crop. one of my own projects was to increase yields of maize by mitigating the negative impact of the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica.
Striga spp are parasitic weeds that can infest certain crops particularly cereals. these plant-parasites have specialized root systems that are incapable of supporting their own water and nutrient needs through the usual means of absorbtion of soil solutes; instead the root tissue of Striga is adapted to splicing into the root system of host plants and to feed on these host plants much in the same way that guinea worms or malarial parasites absorb nutrients from human hosts.
Trap-crops or false hosts are plants that induce the germination of Striga but to which the parasite cannot attach ("false hosts" is a more encompassing term which may include plants that do not have a commercial value as do crops). the use of trap-crops is a very good way of reducing Striga seed loads in the soil. in addition, if nitrogen-fixing crops are planted these have the further benefit of increasing soil fertility. trap-crops can be used either in pure stands (to maximize destruction of Striga seeds and soil conditioning) or in systems of intercropping (which offers some Striga control while allowing for the farmers' home consumption or cash crop requirements for maize). it is higlhly recommended to include rotations with trap-crops such as cotton or legumes such as soybean, cowpea, bambara bean or groundnut (called peanut in north america) when there is a profitable market available for these crops. seed of soybean varieties that have been selected for enhanced characteristics as a false host for Striga are available from SARI.
Because of logistical and budgetary constraints, resistant seed and enhance soybean seeds were not obtained from this sources but it is hoped that these resources may be utilized in the future. I would recommend that Sammy Arku-Kelly, the FtF program manager for OIC Tamale, take on the task of, and be allocated the resources for, obtaining Striga-destroying soybean varieties. Eddie, I'd like to encourage you to consider if these varieties also have a place in whatever work you are going to be doing.
locally tested strains of soybeans selected for better Striga trap-crop properties
are available from:
A.B. Salifu (Director)
Victor Clottey (on farm agronomist)
Mashcek Abdulai (maize breeder)
James Kombiok (on farm agronomist)
Nicholas N. Denwar (soybean breeder)
Savanna Agricultural Research Institute
Box 52
Tamale, Northern Region
Ghana
During a field day we conducted the issue was raised that while soybeans (and
cotton) are good crops for reducing Striga seed loads in the soil, there
are additional problems to consider:
soybean is not a crop with a niche in the traditional subsistence needs of the
comunity
as cash crops there are often no profitable markets for soybean (or cotton).
Farmers in the Gushiegu area requested assistance in marketing with the intention
of alleviating the problems they percieve in middlemen purchasers setting the
price at harvest. If you can offer any advice on this issue, Eddie, (in addition
to the suggestion I made that the farmers consider forming themselves into a
cooperative) please pass it along directly to Ose and Sammy for transmission
to the Gushiegu farmers.
Thanks very much for any assistance you can offer in this regard.
Sincerely,
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Conrad Berube |
890 eberts st |
For more information on the farmer-to-farmer program write to
Farmserve Africa Program
OIC International 240 West Tulpehocken Street
Philadelphia, PA 19144
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