Nyankpala, Nov. 13 – Farmers and seed companies have joined scientists of the CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) to help choose soybean varieties that can withstand drought in northern Ghana.
The Participatory Varietal Selection exercise, held on the Institute’s experimental fields at Nyankpala, is part of CSIR-SARI’s soybean improvement programme, carried out with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and funded by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
Participants assessed 30 soybean lines that have been under evaluation for two years, scoring them for drought tolerance, yield potential and other traits that affect how the crop is grown and harvested. Five of the most promising lines will be taken to on-farm demonstrations in 2027.
Farmers came from Golinga, Gbulahagu, Kpalsogu, Waribugu-Kukuo and Gawagu, together with representatives of BATBAK Services and Heritage Seeds Company Limited.
Farmers at the centre of variety development
Dr Francisca Addae-Frimpomaah, Head of the Soybean Improvement Programme and a soybean breeder at CSIR-SARI, said involving farmers and seed companies early was key to adoption, since varieties are often rejected when farmers have no say in their development. “The farmers are the ones who are going to plant them in the field,” she said.
She said selected farmers would receive free seed to plant alongside the varieties they already grow, so researchers could compare performance under farmers’ own conditions. Their choices would be analysed together with data from the research fields before the final varieties are decided.
Dr Addae-Frimpomaah noted that CSIR-SARI released three new soybean varieties last year, and urged farmers to use certified seed, cautioning that recycled seed lowers quality and yields.
Building breeding capacity
Mr Abush Tesfaye Abebe, a soybean breeder with IITA, said the partnership seeks to develop and test varieties with better yield, grain quality, maturity and adaptability to climate change. He said IITA supplies breeding lines for evaluation and supports the strengthening of local soybean breeding and variety-testing capacity.
Seed companies and farmers welcome the exercise
Mr Samuel Bakaweri, Founder and Managing Director of BATBAK Services, a Tamale-based seed company, said the exercise allowed seed firms to judge which varieties suit their production areas. He listed high yield, higher pod clearance for mechanised harvesting and low pod shattering as the traits seed producers look for, adding that the event also connected seed companies with farmers as potential customers.
Mr James Majeed, a farmer from Gawagu, said the exercise had introduced him to improved varieties and their traits, and that he was ready to grow the selected variety once it becomes available next season.
Adapted from a report by the Ghana News Agency.
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