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59,000 Register For Planting For Food In Upper East Region

By Daily Guide
General News A woman on her farm.Photo credit: USAID
MAY 21, 2018 LISTEN
A woman on her farm.  Photo credit: USAID

Some farmers at Kong-Nagbok in the Nabdam District in the Upper East Region have called on the Ministry of Food & Agriculture (MoFA) to ensure the timely flow of information on the release of fertilisers and other inputs to enable them to start cultivation early.

According to the farmers, their inability to secure the inputs early last year affected their preparation and cultivation, which also affected their yield.

They are, therefore, appealing to the government to remove the improved seeds component of the programme, hinting that the cost of the seeds is expensive for farmers at the rural level.

Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Director of MoFA, Francis Enno, has indicated that the inputs, including fertiliser and improved seeds, have arrived in the region ahead of the planting season.

He stated that despite the delay in the release of inputs last year, a total of 23, 000 farmers participated in the 'planting for food and jobs' and this year, a total of 59, 000 farmers and 'wannabe' farmers have expressed interest and have been registered ahead of the planting season.

“…We are look forward to see all of them participating in the 'planting for food and jobs' programme this year. This year, the inputs have come in early and the distributors are also ready, and so we look forward to record a good yield,” he said.

Mr Enno explained that the fall army worms will still be around this year and advised farmers to form spraying groups in their communities to be effective in fighting the worms.

This year, the improved seeds for 'planting for food and jobs', he mentioned, will be paid for through mobile money and “also farmers will have to pay all the 50 percent of the cost of the type fertiliser they want before they are given”.

Just like last year, government will still subsidise the cost of fertilisers by 50 percent, and the farmers will pay all the remaining 50 percent before receiving the fertiliser.

This approach is different from what happened last year, where apart from the 50 percent that government absorbed, many farmers under the programme were made to pay half of the remaining 50 percent and then paid the remaining after harvesting and selling their produce.

Activities under the 'planting for food and jobs' programme include the supply of improved seeds and various types of fertilizers and marketing. There is also a component that sees to the availability of extension services at the district and community levels and fertiliser subsidy and monitoring.

The programme has been structured along the lines of an earlier agriculture programme initiated in the early years of the 1970s dubbed 'Operation Feed Yourself', which was aimed at making Ghana self-sufficient in food supply.

Meanwhile, a member of the Upper East NGO Coalition on Agriculture, Mark Akparibo, has called on MoFA to encourage more women to participate in the 'planting for food and jobs' this year.

From Ebo Bruce-Quuansah, Kong-Nagbok

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