Schools feeding programme boosts agriculture in Nkwanta District

Mr Joseph Yaw Denteh, Nkwanta District Chief Executive (DCE) has said government's schools feeding programme has had a two-pronged positive impact on the area.

He said in economic terms it had brought ready market for farmers' produce and socially, the programme had raised the nutritional levels of many of the young ones in schools.

Mr Denteh was addressing 20 participants at a two-day School Feeding Programme Stakeholders Sensitization workshop at Nkwanta.

Participants were drawn from the Ministry of Health, Education, District Assembly and schools on the programme.

Mr Denteh said the programme might have led to increased child enrolment from 266 and 462 to 555 and 741 in the Odumase and Abunyanya primary schools now running the programme.

The DCE said as more schools were roped in and enrolment went up, farmers would be expected to increase acreage of crops to supply to the programme, suggesting that farmers planted and supplied highly nutritious foods as Soya in addition to traditional ones grown in the area.

The workshop discussed monitoring and linkage of the programme to agricultural production in the area and other ways of managing the programme.

Source: GNA