National Committee for World Food Day plants tress

Accra, Oct. 5, GNA - The National Planning Committee for the 2007 World Food Day on Friday planted 60 mango seedlings at the Odorgonno Secondary School in Accra as part of activities to mark the celebration which falls on Tuesday, October 16.

The Committee also visited the Weija Agriculture Development (WAD) Limited, an organic fruit processing company, and interacted with management and staff.

At the Odorgonno Secondary School, Mrs Comfort Acheampong, National Coordinator for Agriculture, Ghana Education Service, said the theme for the 2007 World Food Day: "The Right To Food, Make It Happen" called on the entire society to develop interest in food cultivation which was crucial to the sustenance of life.

She said food consumption was a right and that all persons must have food at all times to survive, adding that food security could only be attained when all persons cultivated food even if on a small scale. Mrs. Acheampong urged the students to take their agriculture lessons seriously since the sector had huge investment potentials and could generate high foreign exchange for the country.

She commended the students for their hard work in taking good care of 40 seedlings planted last year and urged them to nurture the new ones well.

Mr. Albert Tackie, Assistant Headmaster for the School, expressed appreciation to the Committee and pledged to nurture the seedlings to generate income and serve as a nutritional supplement for the school. At WAD Limited, Mr Godfrey Baidoo-Tsibu, Programme Assistant, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), said the company was being supported by the FAO in a project financed by the German Government aimed at increasing food security of small scale farmers in West and Central Africa through export and fair trade of organic products. He said the company was into the processing of mango, pineapple, coconut and banana in their dry form to serve a ready market in Switzerland and other European countries.

Mr. Baidoo-Tsibu said the project, which was being implemented at the regional level in countries such as Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, was also aimed at improving the income levels of farmers by assisting them to concentrate on value addition instead of the export of the raw produce. He said the FAO was also supporting the Ekumfi Atwia WAD Organic Farmers Association in the Central Region as well as the Volta Mango Growers Association in the Volta Region. Mr Stephen Ben-Doe, Production Manager for WAD, said the company exported over 2,000 tonnes of fruits annually.