8/3/2019 Extension Field Trip Report

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/extension-field-trip-report 1/2

EXTENSION FIELD TRIP REPORT (NATIONAL IRRIGATION CENTRE ASHAIMAN)

19TH

OCTOBER, 2011

CROP PRODUCTION

The National Irrigation Centre Ashaiman is one of 22 irrigation centres in Ghana. It was established

between 1965 and 1968. It has a land size of about 200 hectares, 155 hectares developed so far, and

76 hectares being used. The centre has a reservoir of size about 700m x 11.9m which is used to

irrigate the land, divided into left and right banks. The left bank has an area of about 56m2

while the

right bank has an area of about 99m2, with only 20m

2being used.

The crop mainly cultivated at the centre is rice, specifically Jasmine rice, but this could change based

on market demand and may be changed to Togo marshall, aromatic short, GK88, DS3, among others.

The farmers also cultivate vegetables such as onion, pepper, okro, garden eggs and cucumber.

Varieties of maize such as obaatanpa and mamaba are also cultivated at the centre.

A season for rice cultivation lasts for about six months. There are two major planting seasons, the

first season starting from February and ending in August. The second season is from July to

December. Since the centre is under irrigation, it does not pay much attention to rainfall pattern.

During land preparation for cultivation, power tillers are used to till the land and cultural practices

carried out. The rice is then planted either by broadcasting or transplanting and chemical sprays

used to control weeds and pests. When rice is ready to be harvested, sickle is used to do the

harvesting( manpower), with hired labour and help from family members and other farmers.

Rice on the field is attacked by diseases such as yellow mottle (characterised by yellowing of leaves)

and rust. Stem borers, birds and rodents are some of the pests that attack the rice on the field.

The rice takes about 120 days to mature, but is harvested between 112 115 days where it is about

90% dry. When the rice is harvested, it is sun dried for about 3 days under favourable conditions and

then packed into sacks. There is no better storage system for the harvested rice on the farm since

farmers tend to have ready market for their harvested rice from market women who come to the

farm. Farmers harvest about 20 bags per acre of rice from their farms. One bag of paddy rice

(unpolished) weighs about 84kg whiles a bag of polished rice weighs about 58kg. No value is added

to rice harvested at the centre since the farmers deem it to be capital intensive, and also due to the

fact that they dont gain much from the sale of their produce.

The project is maintained by funds generated by project, but only for heavy repairs. Each farmer at

the centre has about 0.4 0.6 of a hectare of land under cultivation. When the rice is harvested, the

farmers gather to determine the selling price.

8/3/2019 Extension Field Trip Report

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/extension-field-trip-report 2/2

GENERAL LIVELIHOOD

Farmers at the centre have formed a union known as the Ashaiman Irrigation Rice Farmers Co-

Operative Limited to help each other in times of need and to address their grievances. The union

consists of about 93 people, 77 of them being male and the remaining 16 being female. This union

provides farmers with inputs on credit, for them to pay after their produce have been harvested and

marketed.

The road network from the town to the centre is observed to be dusty and not in good form, with

some parts under construction. Farmers gain water for drinking and general use from taps around

the centre which they pay for. Supply of electricity is also obtained from the normal one supplied by

ECG. Farmers used to rely on L.P Gas for their source of energy, but due to shortage and price

increase of the L.P Gas, they have now resorted to the use of charcoal and firewood.

On the part of sanitation, farmers made it known to us that zoomlion vehicles came to the centre

occasionally to carry their refuse for a fee. Sometimes also they carry the refuse to town themselves.

They also made us aware that there were toilet facilities at the centre and public toilets were also

around. It was also observed that it could take about 15 minutes for one to walk from the centre to

the nearest health centre.

CHALLENGES

The farmers made it known to us that financing was the major challenge they were facing at the

centre .They complained that the financial institutions that were ready to grant them loans did so on

short terms, thereby consuming almost all the profit they gained from the sale of their produce.

Also, the loans were granted late, at a time where the use it was intended for might have been

fulfilled, thereby causing the money to be used for other things. They also complained that theterms of payment for the loans were unfavourable. They were asked to pay weekly amounts and

considering the fact that they had used the money to purchase inputs for the cultivation, they found

it hard to meet these terms of payment.

High cost of inputs was another challenge the farmers are facing. Since they do not gain so much

from the sale of their produce, they find the price of the inputs they use for their cultivation to be

too high, and tend to consume all their capital. Also they cited climate change as another challenge

they are facing at the centre.