CSIR-CRI and Lancaster University in the United Kingdom have collaborated to introduce an irrigation technology called Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) to rice farmers in the Ketu North district of the Volta Region in Ghana. AWD technology promotes irrigation practices for rice production in hard-to-reach areas where water is scarce, especially during the harmattan season.
The project is aimed at improving rice micronutrient levels in Ghana, which would help to eliminate ‘hidden hunger’ in the country. The research is being implemented with a private company to facilitate the commercialization of the product. Dr. Patricia Amankwaa-Yeboah, the African Lead Partner at CSIR-Crops Research Institute, stated that previous research had shown that the AWD technology could improve the level of micronutrients in rice grains if adopted by farmers.
The researchers are evaluating different rice genotypes under AWD in field trials on several farmers’ fields across the country. The technology is expected to improve the resilience of rice production by minimizing water and nutrient use and enhance food and nutrition security. The initiative is also aimed at introducing a “technology package” comprising improved rice genotypes with alternate wetting and drying irrigation management as well as nutrient management initiatives to commercial and subsistence farmers across the country.
Farmers are encouraged to adopt AWD technology to help them increase the resilience of their rice production systems to the changing climate where water is envisaged to become an increasingly limiting factor for sustainable rice production.