Farmers Urged To Pay Back Loans

Farmers in the Sawla - Tuna - Kalba district in the Northern Region have been advised to always try and redeem loans whenever these are advanced to them for the progress of their farming activities.

The call was made by Ambrose B. Ansaayiri, the Director of Food and Agriculture overseeing the Sawla - Tuna - Kalba district at this year's National Farmers Day held at the district level in Kalba. He said this is necessary because it will afford other farmers to benefit from the credit facility.

The occasion was graced by Hon. James Kipo Sunyehzi, the District Chief Executive (D.C.E.) of the area and his departmental heads and staff including a large turn-out of the chief and people of Kalba and its environs.

Mr. Ansaayiri bemoaned the situation where ¢740,990,000.00 was recovered from a total of ¢1,714,912,000.00 loans given to farmers last year.

In an extempore delivery, Hon Sunyehzi, enumerated the services that government has equitably provided for the three towns which make up the district and also used the occasion to advise the people on the threat of the HIV/AIDS menace.

He also advised them to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme which could guarantee their health to increase agricultural production, a mainstay of their livelihood.

The Hon. D.C.E. argued that the 'bena' - a cultural dance of the brefo tribe - in which other tribes participated during the occasion was a symbol of unity and admonished them to eschew divisiveness since it had the tendency to retard development.

Out of a total of nineteen award recipients, three women emerged winners in the categories of livestock, sheanuts and soya beans production The overall best farmer also took home a motorbike, a piece of cloth, two cutlasses and a pair of Willington boots.