Four new improved crop varieties have been introduced to farmers at Kunkulung in the Kumbungu district of the Northern region to help increase yield among smallholder farmers.

The new cowpea, maize and groundnut varieties are said to be drought-tolerant and can mature within three months after planting.

This has become necessary following the climate change and its effects on rainfall patterns in the area.

The project has been globally led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and in Ghana, it was led by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture.

The World Bank funded project is been implemented in 32 districts in eight regions in the country.

Thousands of farmers are set to benefit from smart production and soil projects being implemented in the Northern region.

The farmers received training on utilizing smart agriculture techniques and farm inputs to enhance their production.

Speaking to MyJoyOnline, Dr. Patricia Amankwaa-Yeboah, Senior Research Scientist and Soil and Water Engineer at the CSIR-Crop Research Institute in Kumasi, highlighted that farmers are facing numerous challenges, from planting to agronomic practices. These challenges have resulted in labor constraints that prevent farmers from expanding their farms.

"More and more of our farmers are still smallholder farmers, even when they can plant, they don't because of labor constraints," she said.

Dr Amankwaa-Yeboah added that it was against these constraints that they were introducing small mechanized equipment like the planters, fertilizer applicators among others to assist farmers in improving their work.

She added that to help improve soil fertility, they are supporting the farmers with fertilizer specifically produce to suit the climate and oil of the area.

"When it comes to the soil, we are trying to improve the fertility by giving them a very specific amount of fertilizer to apply. It is almost district level base unlike the national level where they are applying the blanket fertilizer, so someone in Kumbungu is not applying the same fertilizer like someone in Cape Coast because the conditions are not the same," she said.

She noted that demonstrations on planting and fertilizer application have been conducted to help farmers understand the process. Additionally, the farmers will continue to receive agricultural advice, which will include information on pest infestation, planting and weeding processes, rainfall, and general weather patterns to aid in planning their field activities.

The soil expert added that farmers are also being guided on how to integrate existing beneficial knowledge with the new technology, stating that it will help retain the moisture for a longer time, especially with erratic rainfall patterns in the area.

"Our farmers know that making ridges help, but just how much does it help? So we are doing the demonstration. We have planted some of our fields on ridges and also intercropped them with cover crops like cowpeas to conserve moisture. This way, if there is a drought for two weeks, the soil will still be moist," she explained.

Dr Amankwaa-Yeboah said the project which had been running for the past four years has received funding for two more years, adding that they are working to integrate the project into government programs already running.

The Kumbungu District Director of Agriculture, Abiba Inusah said the new varieties would help improve the yield of farmers considering that the area's rain patterns continue to dwindle.

She noted that last year, the rains in the northern region ended before November, which meant that farmers who planted in July could not harvest their crops before the rains stopped, leading to poor harvests in some areas. She added that with the new improved varieties, which take just three months to mature, farmers are now sure to harvest before November. These varieties can also withstand drought for up to two weeks.

Some of the farmers said the new methods will go a long way in addressing some of the challenges they face which will help improve yield.

This they believe would help reduce poverty in the area.