DuPont Pioneer and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the Ghana Advanced Maize Seed Adoption Programme (GAMSAP) to boost production among smallholder farmers in Ghana
Lystra Antoine, global agriculture development director at DuPont Pioneer, said that the programme will include an investment of US$4mn over the next four years. GAMSAP will support an advanced use of high-quality inputs and improved production techniques to cultivate maize in the country.
“Our collaboration with the USAID seeks to improve household incomes of smallholder maize farmers by improving their access to credit, hybrid seeds, better agronomy, secure input and output markets, post-harvest handling practices and market linkages with end users,” said Antoine.
DuPont Pioneer is a developer and supplier of hybrid seeds to farmers in more than 90 countries.
Jim Bever, mission director of USAID Ghana, said, “High quality seed is a key to the modernisation and profitability for the agricultural sector. This partnership is designed to demonstrate the benefits of new varieties of seed and to encourage farmers to invest in their businesses with productivity-boosting technologies.”
The programme will also seek to partner with other input providers, farm machinery suppliers, local aggregators and processors of maize to provide guaranteed markets to maize farmers, noted Bever.