Agric Census Team To Receive Free Airtime From Bongo Chief

Naba Baba Salifu Alemyaarum, Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area has promised the District Management Team (DMT) free air-time on the Bongo Community FM Station for its activities.

The Paramount Chief made the promise when he chaired the inauguration of the Ghana Census on Agriculture (GCA) in the Bongo District organised by the Ghana Statistical Service in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other partners.

He noted that the failure or success of the agricultural census in the Bongo area would depend largely on the DMT, hence the pledge from the Traditional Council to support the team in its work.

He entreated the team to actively participate in the upcoming traditional council meeting to give publicity for the census.

The census which aims at collecting data about the structures of agriculture and institutions throughout the country, would receive technical support from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to ensure successful conduct of the census.

The team comprised; Alhaji Issifu Mohammed Fawei, the District Coordinating Director, Mr. Drah Edgar the District Director of the Department of Agriculture, Mr Abubakari Bila, the District Planning Officer and Mr Peter Atogewe Wedam, District Information Officer.

The team is to ensure the provision of logistics for all activities of the Ghana Census Agriculture (GCA), assist in the recruitment of field staff, ensure effective education and publicity for the census and ensure that the census activities were carried out within schedule as well as facilitate information sharing and dissemination among other duties.

While some of the responsibilities of the DMT would include; ensuring the provision of facilities for all activities of the GCA, assist in the recruitment of field staff, and ensure effective education and publicity for the census.

Besides, they are to ensure that the census activities are carried out within schedule and to facilitate information sharing and dissemination.

The Bongo District Chief Executive, Mr Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga, in an address explained that, the census was a nationwide data collection for the improvement of the agriculture sector.

He said it would allow for the collection, processing, publishing and dissemination of information on the structure of agriculture and the state of development of the rural areas.

According to him, data would be collected directly from households and some institutions on their agricultural activities including; crop farming, tree planting, and aquaculture and livestock among other agricultural-related activities.

Mr Ayamga added that information would be collected from communities mainly on the geography, availability of basic facilities, socio-economic conditions, transport, infrastructure, availability of community services and potentials for development as well as constraints to development.

He noted that the overall objective of the GCA was to produce and disseminate complete and reliable agricultural data to meet the needs of policy makers and other users to support in decision making.

'It would also induce effective planning and enhance the monitoring of development programmes targeted at further boosting agriculture and developing the rural areas' he added.

Mr Drah Edgar said the authorities in charge of the GCA had already carried out some training for data collectors and other stakeholders both at the national and regional levels adding that Media engagements and other dissemination fora had also been held.

He revealed that as per available records, the first census of agriculture in Ghana was in 1950, 1964 and then in 1985 and noted that the most recent data for the purposes of planning and programme execution in the sector was over 30 years old and could not be relied on for the country's development agenda in modern times.

He therefore appealed for help from all institutions that matter in the execution of the exercise to enable the district play its roles effectively in carrying out the census.

GNA
By Rebecca Kajelo, GNA