Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
origin.
Agona
is the name of a variety originating from a town with the same name
in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Sometimes the size and shape of the grain give a
name to the variety. For instance,
agongula
means short-grained rice. Other names
describe the colour of the paddy or milled grain, as in
musabelig
, which refers
to the “black” (dark) colour of the husk. All these names indicate that the women
farmers have a lot of information about the indigenous rice varieties that they
grow.
Farmers mentioned some desirable attributes of indigenous rice varieties,
which make them superior to modern varieties. These include the following:
•
short cooking time
•
indigenous rice varieties do not spoil when cooked and left overnight as many
traditional homes in the Upper East region do
•
few ingredients are needed for preparation, as they can be cooked with only
salt and pepper, but still are very tasty
•
they are better suited for making traditional dishes like
waakye
(cooked rice
and beans) and rice balls
•
indigenous rice varieties are good for weaning babies (i.e. baby food)
•
indigenous rice varieties are less prone to shattering in the field, even when
harvesting is delayed
•
they perform better and give higher yields than improved varieties under low-
input technology, especially without mineral fertilization
•
they also give higher yields under adverse conditions such as drought, pest, and
disease outbreaks
•
straw of indigenous rice varieties is preferred by livestock
•
indigenous rice varieties are easier to process under the local conditions, usually
by pounding manually with the aid of mortar and pestle.
The farmers at Gore identified 13 indigenous rice varieties grown over the years.
The characteristics and distinguishing features of each local variety are summarized
in Table 9.2. From Table 9.2, it is clear that farmers' stock of varieties keeps chang-
ing with time, thus increasing the gene pool within the community. They may accept
new introductions from the outside, but nevertheless strive to maintain the varieties
they are familiar with. This tendency explains the continuous cultivation of some
varieties for over 30 years within the same locality.
Farmers also gave good reasons for continuous cultivation of some indigenous
rice varieties that otherwise have poor agronomic qualities and low market value.
For instance,
agongula
and
musabelig
are grown largely for local consumption as
they have low market value. The varieties with white grain, on the other hand,
command good prices at the urban markets and are cropped largely for sale.
From the farm trials it was found that only one of the improved varieties, IR-24,
significantly out-yielded the indigenous rice varieties (Table 9.3). There were no
significant yield differences among GR-18,
asamolgu
and
asakira
.
Asamolgu
even
out-yielded GR-18. This showed that indigenous rice varieties could give high
yields under improved technology such as the use of mineral fertilizer. The yield
