ADRA assists 265 farmers to build storage facilities

Gomoa Koforidua (C/R), June 17, GNA - The Adventist Development And Relief Agency (ADRA) Ghana-USAID has, between January 2004 and March 2005, supported 265 farmers to build narrow cribs in over 20 communities in the Gomoa District and Awutu-Effutu-Senya districts to store their maize. ADRA Agricultural Extension Officers have offered technical advise to the farmers and educated them on the need to harvest their maize early to avoid weevil infestation.

Mr Isaac Kankam-Boadu, the Winneba Area Field Officer of ADRA, told the GNA that some of the cribs are located at Awutu Kwei and Gomoa Koforidua on Thursday. He said when ADRA Ghana-USAID started its five-year food security programme in the Central Region, it identified that a greater percent of maize stored by farmers in their traditional method got spoiled.

Local artisans from all the ADRA communities in the Winneba operational area were trained to build improved narrow cribs for farmers in their communities Mr Kankam-Boadu said his outfit also supported farmers who built the improved cribs with five large aluminium roofing sheets. The cribs were built with local materials and no mouse could climb them due to the technology used.

Madam comfort Owusu, one of the beneficiaries from Gomoa Koforidua, told the GNA that before the introduction of the improved cribs to them by ADRA, she was losing 50 percent of her maize stored in their traditional storage facility. ''With the new crib I can now store my maize and sell it later at a higher price.''