Manpower development on sawah rice technology development process for food security in Nigeria and Ghana

摘要

This paper describes a model of manpower development in the sawah technology development and dissemination. The process includes formal and non-formal manpower development process. The areas of manpower development with greater focus on graduate development include soil science, eco-technology, wetland agronomy, agroforestry, agricultural economics, agricultural extension, gender and development studies, hydrology and weed science. There are over 15 PhDs with 5 in pipeline and 3 post docs in various Japanese institutions. The development of human capital as a critical driver of food security has led to the development and dissemination of the sawah technology in the two countries which consequently has led to the improvement of rice yield from an average of 1.1 to 5.5 t ha-1 in Ghana and an average of 1.47 to 6.0 t ha-1 in Nigeria. The manpower development has impacted on the farmers adopting the technology such that they have achieved improved food security through yield increase and better incomes. This paper recommends the use of similar approach for food security projects in order to guarantee adequate manpower development and project sustainability after donor fatigue or withdrawal.