Soldiers declare Wednesday as farming day

Ho, March 25,GNA-Soldiers at the 66 Artillery Regiment (Volta Barracks) have declared every Wednesday a 93farming day" to revive farming activities in the Regiment and help ensure food security in the country.

This is to promote agriculture and also help the country achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) one, which is about eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. Captain Elvis Amponsah Asamoah, Officer in charge of Agricultural activities at the Regiment, disclosed this at a brief re-launch of Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Agricultural Policy in the Barracks on Friday.

He said the soldiers would spend good time on the farm every Wednesday, sometimes with their families. Captain Asamoah said, 93The focus is to engage in practical agriculture with the view to increase production in local staples, commercial co-operations, plants and livestock".

"It is worth noting that it will also offer practical lessons and training to prepare troops for their future engagement as commercial farmers or backyard gardeners during retirement", he added. Captain Asamoah said though the Regiment already had a kraal of 292 cattle, Mango and Teak plantations and was involved in fish farming, it was re-securing an abandoned 50 acre farmland at Sokode, near Ho.

"We have a new impetus and will go all out to boost food and meat output with the ultimate goal of reducing hunger and poverty," he said.

Captain Asamoah said the venture would call for the assistance of agricultural extension officers, veterinary officers and practitioners in the field of production and marketing and urged such practitioners to collaborate with the Regiment.

The GAF Agriculture policy envisages food cropping, cash cropping, animal rearing, fish farming and afforestation. It also focuses on food processing ventures such as gari, oil and rice, fruit juice extraction, fish preservation and meat among others. There will be a GAF Agricultural Fair at the end of every farming season to award hard working garrisons, groups and individuals.