Farmers and food processors from across the country have been exposed to improved crop varieties to increase yield and add value to production. Researchers at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have also been engaging the farmers in best practices to increase productivity at the farm gate. The Institute has developed new cassava, yam, sweet potato and cocoyam commodities, emanating from the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP). Felix Ofori Annor-Nyako, a Technical Specialist for Crops and Horticultural Prorammes at the CSIR, says as the national centre of specialization for root and tuber crops, the CRI is expected to develop technologies for distribution to farmers. It is therefore important, he noted, for the researchers to carry along beneficiaries of developed technologies in the process of developing the planting materials. About 40 farmers and small-scale processors were taken round the WAAPP research fields at the CRI to observe on-station research work and interact with the research scientists. “Before they started most of the work they [researchers] are doing on the fields, farmers were involved in the initial stages, as to what kind of varieties they need and it is on such requests that the researchers plan their research and implement them,” observed Dr. Annor-Nyako, who added that the farmers are also involved in the on-farm trials and demonstrations to test the planting materials. He said whilst the researchers produce convenience-food products for the farmers, it is also important that they are trained to benefit from farm-gate prices of commodities. WAAPP Programme Coordinator at the CRI, Dr. Joe Manu-Aduenning, told Luv FM the farmers and processors can take advantage of different crop varieties to enhance food production. WAAPP is a sub-regional programme supported by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and CSIR. The objective of the programme is to generate and disseminate improved technologies in the West Africa region and achieve 25 percent increase in the productivity of the main agricultural sectors of the participating countries. The first phase of the 10-year programme is expected to end in December 2012 and Dr. Manu-Aduenning is optimistic targets would be exceeded.