Lancaster University Commends CSIR Over Progress Of Research Projects

A team of researchers led by Prof. Nigel Paul from the Lancaster University Environment Centre has commended its research partners in Ghana for their commitment to the Recirculate project.

Prof. Nigel Paul and his team made the commendations during a project research review meeting with its Ghanaian stakeholders last week at Fumesua in the Ashanti region.

The review meeting was held for stakeholders to assess the level of progress of the Water for Food Production component of the Recirculate research project a year into its implementation and to deliberate on the way forward of the ongoing research work.

National stakeholders of the project present during the review meeting included the Water Research Institute, the Institute of Industrial Research and the lead institute - Crops Research Institute, all of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research( CSIR).

The Lancaster University's Principal Investigator of the Water for Food Production component of the Recirculate Project, Prof. Ian Dodd, during the review meeting, expressed satisfaction at the results achieved so far in the tomato and rice research activities respectively.

A project team member, Prof. Kirk Semple, pointed out that the entire Recirculate project is aimed at building the capacities of Africa's research forces using the Lancaster University's Environment Centre Eco-innovation module.

He, therefore, encouraged the research implementation team to continue working hard to enable the team to achieve the projected results at the end of the programme.

Dr. Stella Ama Ennin, Director of the Crops Research Institute (CRI) who welcomed stakeholders to the review meeting said the project is very significant to the Council's research agenda and the Ghanaian context of crop production.

She continued that water management in food crop production has become very critical in recent times in the face of climate and its related impact on agriculture, hence the need for industry players such as smallholder and commercial farmers to adopt efficient water and nutrients management approach in crop production.

Dr. Stella Ennin on behalf of the CSIR assured the Lancaster University team of her Institute's and the Council's continuous commitment towards the project.

Dr. Stephen Yeboah, a Research Scientist at the CSIR- CRI and leader of the Water for Food Production work package in Ghana, maintained that maximizing water and nutrients use in African agriculture has become an urgent priority for societies concerned about food security.

Dr. Yeboah noted that the Water for Food Production research is investigating water and nutrients management opportunities in the production of two important food crops in Ghana namely, rice and tomato.

Ing. Dr. Patricia Oteng- Darko, project team member also with the CRI stressed the importance of using different researched water saving technologies in rice and tomato production.

Ing. Oteng - Darko disclosed that the alternate wetting and drying system of irrigation can greatly help improve rice yield whilst saving substantial water in the production process.

The Water for Food Production component of the Recirculate project been implemented by the Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR-CRI) in partnership with the Lancaster University is being funded by the Global Challenge Research Fund.

The project which commenced early last year is expected to end in the year 2022.