Government to provide GHC34 million for research to support agriculture

The Government is to provide over GHC34million to resource various research institutions including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) to enable them to provide the appropriate support for the implementation of Government’s Agriculture Policy.

This was announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at a durbar at the Oil Palm Research Institute at Kusi on the second day of his three-day tour of the Eastern Region.

He explained that the Government would develop six other cash crops to the same status as cocoa to increase the country’s earnings from agriculture.

The selected crops include coconut, cashew, mango, oil palm, coffee and the shea fruit.

The President said there was a bill before Parliament for the establishment of the Tree Crop Authority to help develop and promote the selected six crops including rubber.

At Akwatia, the President assured the chiefs and people of the area that government was taking steps to revamp the Akwatia Diamond Mines and for the first time in three years, the President formerly switched the light to connect the quarters of the former workers of the mines to the national grid after they were disconnection for non-payment of electricity bills.

Mr Kwesi Amoako -Attah announced that government had provided his Ministry with GHC2.2 billion for payment of road contractors, which would start during the third week of October, this year.

Mr Amoako-Attah said his Ministry was working closely with the contractors working on the Akwatia town roads to enable them to complete the project on schedule and assured the people that the road network connecting Akwatia, Akyem Wenkyi, Kusi and Akim Oda would soon be awarded on contract for reconstruction.

A similar durbar was held at Akyem Wenkyi as part of the Presidential tour.