Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) has showcased improved groundnut varieties to farmers to help improve productivity.
It was undertaken during a field day trip to the Tingoli community in the Northern Region, which was in partnership with the Ministry of Food Agriculture (MoFA) with resource support from the WOTRO Organization.
Mr Abdul Rashid Issah, Seed Technologist at CSIR-SARI, speaking during the field demonstration, said it sought to educate and showcase to farmers the need to adopt improved seed varieties for higher yields.
He mentioned the improved seed varieties, which included SARI NUT two and CHINESE NUT introduced by CSIR-SARI to the Farmers in 2018 to enhance groundnut production in six districts in the northern sector, which included Tolon, Kumbungu, Binduri, Nadowli-Kaleo, Central Gonja and East Gonja.
He said the varieties grew well and early compared to other groundnut varieties which took longer days to mature.
Mr Issah said, “SARI NUT two has 45 per cent oil and 36 per cent protein, high yield with 11.3 per cent CP, suitable for use as confectionery.”
He encouraged farmers to adopt the new varieties to secure and improve their farms to enable them to harvest more yields.
He stated that the varieties were adaptable to climate change and high in protein and oil, better drought tolerance and long storage span, especially the SARI Nut two variety.
A farmer from Tolon District, who planted the improved groundnut varieties, said he harvested 16 bags from an acre of land from the SARI Nut two variety compared to the available variety, which produced three to five bags on the same land size.
Source: GNA