The New Juaben North Municipal Assembly on 1st July 2021, held a one day capacity building training for its Agriculture officers at the Assembly hall on the theme “KEY STEPS TO FOLLOW IN CONDUCTING MULTI –ROUND ANNUAL CROP AND LIVESTOCK SURVEYS (MRACLS)”.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Comfort Asante welcome the participants and encourage them to study hard so that at the end of the training they can practice it to help the Assembly in knowing the number of farmers in our Municipality and the kind of crops and the livestock they are cultivating.
She also thanks the facilitator for coming to enrich the knowledge of our Agriculture officers in the New Juaben North Municipality.
Presents were the New Juaben North Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr. Alhaji Tijani, and Municipal Director for Agriculture, Mr. Courage Narh, Human Resource officer, Mrs. Grace Ohene Amponsah and the facilitator Mr. Joseph K. Ahiaku.
The facilitator explained that multi- round Annual crop and Livestock survey (MRACLS) is about statistical field operations (method or process) that collect, processes and disseminates agricultural data from a ( selected representative or unrepresentative) sample of people ( holders) on the structure of agriculture with the intention of knowing what is at the grounds.
The MRACLS survey provides accurate and up to date information about Ghana agriculture and devising programmes for the agriculture sector in the Ghana.
He stressed on the need to understand household and holders questionnaire when filling the (listing form 1A and 1B) , holding enquiry questionnaire ( form 2),field Area measurements questionnaire (form 3), crop yield measurements questionnaire(form 4), and large scale or institutional holding enquiry questionnaire (form 5).
The facilitator said certain key points should be considered in conducting MRACLS such as farm measurement form 3), establishment of yield plots, generation of report on basic agriculture statistics, first crop condition observation report counting of stands, plants, second crop condition observation report, harvesting and weighing of produce to established yield, third crop condition observation report and the estimation of major season Area, yield and production.
Participants were taken through the procedure involved in field measurement; he explained that the method consists of taking for each side of a farm field the bearing and the distance. The bearing and the distance are used by the programmable calculator to estimate the area of the field. Two persons are required for the assignment.
The officers were given chances to ask questions to understand the concept well.
Story By;
Elizabeth Ansaah
Municipal Information Officer