Crop Cutting Yield Survey for the 2019 Major Season in GIC Project Areas

The “Green Innovation Centres for the Agricultural and Food Sector (GIC)-GIZ”, a special initiative commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as part the Ghana country package of the global programme, supports the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and selected actors in the value chains (VCs) of maize and rice. GIC Ghana officially started in April, 2015, and still running till March, 2021. The Project is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH which focuses on the improvement of livelihood of smallholder farmers and other stakeholders in these value chains in the Ghanaian regions of Volta, Oti Eastern, Ashanti, Ahafo Bono and Bono East.

This recount describes the methodological approach that was used in the assessment of yield for maize and rice in selected communities and districts in Ghana for the Green Innovation Centre for the Agriculture and Food Sector – Ghana (GIC). The field work lasted from April to October 2019. This period corresponded to the beginning of the growing to the end of the harvesting season for the major season in the selected regions. Two major cereal crops were chosen: Maize and Rice: because they are among the most important basic staple foods in Ghana.

It is widely known that agricultural productivity is important to the overall economy. It is a key driver for the wellbeing of farmers, the agro-based industry and the general economy. It is linked to food security food prices and poverty alleviation in developing countries. In addition, food supplies have to be geared towards meeting the challenges of increasing global population, changes in income and the resultant changes in diet. Hence research on agricultural productivity is of paramount importance.

The use of data and technology in agriculture has far reaching impact on agri-businesses, and enables a more efficient and accurate decision making throughout the cultivation cycle. The smart approach towards Crop Cutting Exercise (CCE) are beneficial on multiple levels. Crop cutting is the widest spread method of yield estimation used through the world. The techniques were developed in India in 1940s and 1950s. Crop cutting experiments are regularly conducted in order to obtain fair, precise and accurate estimate of yield of principal crops which include rice, maize, cassava, groundnut, plantain, mango, cocoa, sorghum, millet and soybean. These experiments are conducted through stratified random sampling technique taking block as a primary unit of planning by the agricultural development unit in each district.