MOFA commissions fish cages and fingerlings for youth under Youth in Agriculture Programme

Senchi (E/R), Sept 21, GNA - The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has commissioned 50 fish cages and one million fingerlings for 250 youth at Senchi in the Eastern Region under the Youth-in Agriculture Programme (YIAP).

The initiative was also part of Government's plans to use agriculture to reduce unemployment and poverty among the youth.

Nii Amasah Namoale, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, in-charge of Fisheries, who commissioned the project, noted that Government had acquired 53 million dollars from the World Bank out of which eight million had been set aside to develop the aqua-culture sector.

This, he said, would be geared towards training, offering technical advice and loans for the youth to venture into fish farming.

Nii Namoale said another set of 200 youth in the inland parts of the country would also be trained to benefit from the programme through pond fish farming, urging the youth to make good use of the opportunity to become self employed.

He encouraged businessmen and other interested persons to network with farmers in the northern regions to produce soya beans on large scale for the production of fish feed, adding that aqua-culture business was a profitable enterprise.

Mike Acheampong, Chairman of the Fisheries Commission, MOFA, described the initiative as a turning point in the development of aqua-culture within the country's agriculture sector, adding” Ghana is a main fish consuming country”.

He cautioned the public against violating the laws that govern the fishing industry and noted that culprits would be punished in accordance with the law.

Alhaji Adam Mahama, National Coordinator, Youth-in-Agriculture Programme said the training of the additional 200 persons would increase the total to 450 youth to benefit from the project.

He expressed the hope that beneficiaries would utilize the opportunity to the best of their ability to reduce unemployment and poverty in the area.

The Youth in Agriculture Programme (YIAP) is Government's agricultural sector initiative with an objective of motivating the youth to accept and appreciate farming/food production as a commercial venture, thereby taking up farming as a life time vocation.

GNA