BESSFA Rural Bank supports farmers in Bawku

Garu (U/E), Aug. 12, GNA - The BESSFA Rural Bank in Bawku has supported 153 farmer groups, made up of 904 males and 1,341females, in Bawku with money and farm inputs to enable them to increase production this farming season.

A total of 644,124.75 Ghana Cedis was disbursed to the farmers.

Mr Solomon Awini, the General Manager of the Bank, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Garu in the Upper East Region.

He said the support was to promote agriculture and ensure adequate food security in the Bawku Area as that was one major challenge facing the development of the people.

He said supporting farmers was a good venture that would improve on yield for local consumption and for commercial purposes to earn farmers a good income.

Mr Awini said as part of efforts to promote agriculture, the Bank had organised activities to educate farmers to engage in other economic ventures such as Shea butter extraction, soap making and smock weaving to improve on their economic conditions.

He said the Bank had also encouraged women groups to go into the processing of rice, malt from sorghum, 'pito' brewing, and the production of guinea fowl chicks for sale.

Mr Awini said because of the inconsistent rainfall pattern in the area, the Bank, in collaboration with the Presbyterian Agricultural Station in the Garu-Tempane District, had organised educational programmes to sensitise the farmers on the need to grow short-term maturing crops to avoid droughts.

He urged them to save their earnings with the Bank in order to qualify for credit facilities to increase production.

He called on farmers who had accessed loans from the Bank to pay in good time so as to access more and allow others to also benefit.

GNA

By Jerry Azanduna, GNA