‘Govt committed to welfare of smallholder farmers’

Mr Issifu Laa-Bandow, Zabzugu District Chief Executive (DCE), has assured smallholder farmers in the district of government’s commitment to support them improve to improve on their livelihood.

He said, as the DCE he knows that majority of the people are farmers and therefore he would continue to promote any intervention that would improve agriculture productivity to reduce poverty.

He therefore urged the people to support the government to succeed in implementing people centred policies and programme.

Mr Laa-Bandow was speaking in Zabzugu at the community smallholder agriculture policy fair.

The event preceded an innovative farmer-policy maker’s platform dubbed: “Smallholder policy dialogue session,” were more than 40 Farmer-Bases Organisation leaders in the district met and brainstormed on the effects of the current national agriculture policy framework on their livelihood.

It was sponsored by SIFA Agro Trade and USAID Agriculture Policy Support Programme (APSP).

The farmers with the support of an agriculture policy expert developed the outcome of the brainstorming session into a policy paper which was presented to the DCE.

The District Director of Food and Agriculture Mr Ali Dassana urged farmers to pay their indebtedness to financial institutions promptly to ensure continued financial support for inputs.

He said government has re-introduced subsidy for fertilizer this year and therefore asked farmers to contact their agriculture extension officers for coupons and for more information.

Mr Mustapha Sanah, President and Chief Executive Officer of SIFA Agro Trade thanked USAID for supporting the project.

He underscored the importance of getting Ghana’s agriculture policy in the right perspective.

SIFA Agro Trade and USAID APSP had implemented similar activities in Kumbungu and Tatale Districts where smallholder farmers had the opportunity of presenting their inputs into the national agriculture policy to leaders of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs.