Dr Young Jin Kim, new Country Director for the Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA), has visited the various tomato project sites of the Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-CRI).
The visit was to acquaint himself with KOPIA’s activities and also monitor the progress of seed production for the CRI-Kwabena Kwabena and KOPIA tomato varieties.
Dr Kim, before embarking on the field visit, engaged the CSIR-CRI Tomato Breeding team members, led by Dr Michael Kwabena Osei, a Principal Research Scientist, to get updates on KOPIA Tomato activities in Ghana.
He then visited the tomato project at CSIR-CRI at Fumesua and the breeder seed production at Kwadaso Station.
Again, he visited the foundation seed production fields at Berekum in the Bono Region.
Dr. Osei highlighted the key attributes of the new tomato varieties, which are early maturity, high yields, high brix (total soluble solids) and tolerance to late early blight diseases.
These varieties have been developed to address the challenges posed by climate change, with distinct characteristics that made them suitable for both the fresh market and processing industry.
During the tour, Dr Kim interacted with farmers, learning about their experiences and challenges with the new tomato varieties.
The farmers expressed enthusiasm for the unique profiles and benefits of the CRI-Kwabena Kwabena and KOPIA tomato varieties.
They highlighted the need for timely seed availability to facilitate widespread cultivation of these varieties.
Dr Kim noted that, the feedback and suggestions from farmers would inform future research and development initiatives, adding that, ensuring seed availability would be crucial in promoting the adoption of these varieties.
He said KOPIA remained committed to supporting Ghana’s agricultural sector through innovative research, capacity building, and technology transfer.
Source: myghanadaily
