Farmers urged to accept bold interventions of govt

Kpassa, July 3, GNA - Mr Paul Levin Gyato, Nkwanta North District Chief Executive, has called on farmers and fisher-folks to adopt the bold initiatives being implemented by the government and other donor agencies to increase their yields.

He said perceiving agriculture as a business enterprise was enough motivation towards meeting policy benchmarks in food production, livestock and agro-processing.

Mr Gyato, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, challenged farmers to undertake large scale mechanized agricultural production rather than the pervasive subsistence type of production for guaranteed food security and rapid economic growth.

Mr Gyato called for measures to assist the about 1.6 billion hungry people worldwide with between 60-70 percent of them in developing countries, including Ghana.

He wondered why with the endowment of both natural and human resources, majority of people in developing countries continue to wallop in hunger and poverty.

Mr Gyato said the government has, therefore, repositioned itself to rapidly modernize agriculture for food security and wealth creation.

He said the government intends to improve the Youth in Agriculture module under the National Youth Employment and school farm projects countrywide, with tractors being procured to boost agriculture in the district.

Mr Gyato said seven groups were cultivating 209 acres of lowland rice with 10 farmers raising 100 sheep under the credit-in-kind policy.

He said 300 cockerels and 200 guinea fowls were to be sold to farmers in the district to augment their shortage.

Mr Gyato said approximately 625 acres of land would be cropped as soon as the modalities were through, adding that, the district's consignment of fertilizers had been delivered.

He said the Assembly was working hard to have a mechanisation centre with a tractor pool to assist farmers who would want to plough to increase production to safeguard food security.

GNA