East-West Seed Foundation expands vegetable farming training across five regions to boost farmers’ incomes

The East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation is expanding vegetable farming training to five regions in an effort to increase farmers' incomes and promote farming as a profitable venture. Supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Accra, the project is in its second year and will cover the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Ashanti, and Upper East regions.

According to Jemima Djah, the Foundation's Country Director, they have already trained over 30,000 farmers since the project began in 2023. The training involves groups of 30 to 50 farmers, who work on demonstration plots measuring 250 square meters. Field officers guide participants through two crop cycles, covering both dry and rainy seasons.

The training goes beyond cultivation, teaching farmers about crop suitability, production costs, potential yields, and market opportunities. They receive instruction in at least 10 modules, including crop selection, business planning, land preparation, seedling production, transplanting, mulching, and pest management. The program also focuses on water conservation techniques and non-pesticide pest control methods.

In the Ashanti Region, the Foundation is encouraging cocoa farmers to diversify their income streams by learning vegetable production during cocoa harvesting periods. The newly opened learning farm at the University of Ghana serves as a demonstration site for partners in Accra and offers internship opportunities for students. The Foundation plans to establish another learning farm in the Upper East Region to support farmers in that area.