The Crop Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) says it has adopted a series of climate-smart agricultural technologies, including the development of drought-tolerant crop varieties to counter the food production difficulties caused by Climate Change.
This was when a team from Elon University in North Carolina, USA visited the Crop Research Institute in Kumasi. The U.S. team had professors, lecturers and students on their traditional cultural exchange visit and to trade ideas. For the visitors, it was another opportunity to exchange best practices and familiarise themselves with activities of the institute.
Prof Waseem Kasim of the Faculty of History and Geography at Elon University said the visit was primarily to expose their students to the Ghanaian way of life, appreciate the cultural diversity and build synergies for development. The Crop Research Institute was established in 1964 and is the largest of the 13 institutes under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – CSIR – of Ghana.
The institute’s vision is to become a centre of excellence for agricultural research, innovation and capacity building for development. Its goals include developing and disseminating appropriate technologies that are demand-driven and acceptable to end users. A Senior Research Scientist with the Crop Research Institute of the CSIR, Dr. Stephen Yeboah presented a paper on advancing sustainable agriculture and climate change research: the role of the CSIR Crop Research Institute.
The CSIR Crop Research Institute team, led by a Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Kwadwo Adofo, took the visitors round the facility, explaining their day-to-day activities and the institute’s aspirations and challenges. Going round the nurseries, the team demonstrated how they deal with the plants and laboratories.
