Famine threatens farmers in Wa West District

Lassia-Tuolu (U/W), Aug 11, GNA - Farmers in the Wa West District need food aid to enable them go through the rest of the farming season in good health.

This has become necessary because of the long spells of drought in the current farming season that has led the withering of the early maturing crops like beans, groundnuts, yams and early millet. This came to light when Mr Ambrose Dery, the Upper West Regional Minister, visited the district and presented 20 packets of roofing sheets and exercise books all valued at 20 million cedis to victims of a recent rainstorm at Lassia-Tuolu.

Mr Dery said during his visits to some of the districts, he noticed that the shortage of foodstuffs was widespread and there was an urgent need for donors to come to the aid of the region.

''The people need to be helped to come out of the situation to enable them to make it to the next season.''

Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Member of Parliament for the Wa West Constituency who accompanied Mr Dery, said most of the sick people he visited during an earlier tour of the constituency were suffering from hunger-related illnesses.

''If this year's erratic rainfall pattern continued, most of the farmers may not even be able to obtain seeds for planting in the next season.''

Some farmers told the GNA that they were suffering because they are unable to afford the unusual high prices of foodstuffs in the markets this year.

"Even if you sell all your animals you cannot buy food to last for the rest of the season," one of them said.

The Regional Minister an the MP inspected the ruins of the bungalow of the Headmaster of Lassia-Tuolu Senior Secondary School that was gutted by fire about 10 days ago.

Mr Chireh appealed to the government to assist the Lassia-Tuolu Senior Secondary School with a bus and take steps to connect the school to the National Electricity grid.

The school depends on Solar Power for all its activities.