Daboase (WR), Dec. 16, GNA – Mr Emmanuel Boakye, Wassa East District Chief Executive (DCE), has called on farmers to adhere to the advice and training of agriculture extension officers to better manage and maintain their farms.
He said the government was doing everything possible to ensure food security, adding that measures such as the provision of quality seeds and fertilizer have been introduced to boost production.
Mr Boakye implored farmers to contact Agric Extension Officers for assistance on any of the farming practices to improve upon their harvest.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Boakye noted that in the past, farmers used traditional methods in farming that did not yield the needed profits.
That also made farming unattractive to the youth.
The DCE said the introduction of government flagship programmes such the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), Planting for Export and Rural Development and Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ), among others, had gone a long way to boost food production in the country.
He announced that the government had made available maize, rice, soybeans and cowpea seeds and highly subsidized fertilizer to give farmers relief and called on the youth to take advantage of such incentives.
The DCE encouraged the farmers to work hard to produce more food in the country to increase exportation instead of importation, which costs the country huge sums of money.
Mr Boakye announced that about 4000 people have registered in the district for poultry farming, 50 for pig farming and 50 for coconut and rubber farming.
He also lauded the farmers, who in diverse ways and self-sacrifice, had worked tirelessly to make sure there was enough food in the district and the nation at large.
He expressed the hope that with the support of the district, the farmers would grow, reap more food and create more jobs.
He mentioned some innovations the district had introduced such as using bamboo trees as boards in the building, filters to filter the water which had been destroyed by illegal mining activities and stoves for gari processing.
GNA