Global 2000 techniques help to increase yields
Global 2000, the 'green revolution' programme founded by former US President Jimmy Carter to control the causes of Africa's food shortages, is helping to increase dramatically maize and sorghum yields. The programme, now well established in Ghana and Zambia, gives farmers improved seed and advises them when to plant, how to sow and weed more effectively, how and when to apply fertilizer, and how to improve post-harvest handling and storage. Farmers test the techniques on their own land in special plots which they cultivate under the guidance of Global 2000 staff and extension workers. They are encouraged to grow an adjacent control plot using traditional methods so that they can see the differences. The new techniques can increase maize and sorghum yields two or three-fold. For a farmer in Ghana this could mean an extra 30,000 cedis (US$100), the equivalent of more than eight months' pay at the official minimum wage. This has the additional benefit of increasing the farmers' credit-worthiness. Rural infrastructure is also slowly improving to meet increased demands for depots and roads. Ben Ephson, Global 2000, c/o Ministry of Agriculture, PO Box M37, Accra, GHANA
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
1990
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/45373 http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta29e/ |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Global 2000, the 'green revolution' programme founded by former US President Jimmy Carter to control the causes of Africa's food shortages, is helping to increase dramatically maize and sorghum yields.
The programme, now well established in Ghana and Zambia, gives farmers improved seed and advises them when to plant, how to sow and weed more effectively, how and when to apply fertilizer, and how to improve post-harvest handling and storage. Farmers test the techniques on their own land in special plots which they cultivate under the guidance of Global 2000 staff and extension workers. They are encouraged to grow an adjacent control plot using traditional methods so that they can see the differences.
The new techniques can increase maize and sorghum yields two or three-fold. For a farmer in Ghana this could mean an extra 30,000 cedis (US$100), the equivalent of more than eight months' pay at the official minimum wage. This has the additional benefit of increasing the farmers' credit-worthiness. Rural infrastructure is also slowly improving to meet increased demands for depots and roads.
Ben Ephson, Global 2000, c/o Ministry of Agriculture, PO Box M37, Accra, GHANA |
|---|