Ghana rice farmers lose up to 84% of harvest to invasive weeds – Study reveals
Ghana’s rice farmers are losing as much as 84 per cent of their harvests to invasive weeds, according to researchers who presented findings at a stakeholder workshop held on Wednesday.
The findings were shared by the CSIR–Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI) in collaboration with the Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA), raising concerns about a growing threat to food security and the need for urgent coordinated intervention.
The workshop, which brought together over 50 farmers, extension officers and sector stakeholders, marked the completion of the first year of the three-year KOPIA Rice Weed Management Project.
Researchers identified five dominant weed species affecting rice production: Echinochloa spp. (locally known as “Ashaiman killer”), Leptochloa chinensis (“Black Jerry”), Urochloa humidicola (“Aguda”), Ischaemum rugosum (“Ogo”) and Cyperus spp. (“Atadwe”). According to them, these weeds are now deeply established in rice-growing areas.
They warned that weed infestation can reduce yields by between 50 and 80 per cent while also serving as hosts for destructive rice diseases.
Project Coordinator at CSIR-CRI, Dr Stephen Arthur, said farmers are spending between GH¢1,600 and GH¢2,000 per acre on manual weeding, describing the cost as unsustainable.
He urged farmers to adopt integrated weed management approaches, combining timely herbicide use with improved agronomic practices to improve productivity.
Other experts at the workshop raised additional concerns about the wider impact of weed infestation on rice production.
Plant pathologist Dr Atta Aidoo linked weed presence to increased cases of rice blast, sheath blight and brown spot diseases, while entomologist Dr Kofi Frimpong-Anin highlighted shifts in pest behaviour linked to weed proliferation.
Agronomist Kofi Lelabi Kota also discussed crop–weed competition and the economic implications of current weed control methods.
Senior officials from CSIR called for stronger government support to strengthen the rice sector. Deputy Director-General of CSIR, Prof. Marian Dorcas Quain, emphasised the need to boost local seed production to reduce reliance on imported varieties.
Director of CSIR-CRI, Prof. Maxwell Darko Asante, also urged the National Food Buffer Stock Company to procure seeds from Dawhenya to support gains made in the sector.
The Director of the KOPIA Ghana Centre, Dr Young Jin Kim, highlighted Korea’s experience in developing resilient rice production systems and reaffirmed continued partnership with Ghana.
Participants later toured demonstration fields to compare managed and unmanaged rice plots. Farmers who attended expressed readiness to adopt the recommended practices in the upcoming planting season.
“What we have seen and heard is exactly what we needed,” said lead farmer Richard Affleh.
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