PFJ registers 90,000 farmers for 2019 season in Bawku

About 90,000 farmers have been registered by the Bawku Municipal Department of Agriculture to participate in this year’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme in the Bawku Municipality and its environs.

About 60 input dealers have also been registered under the programme to be supervised by the Directorate to supply farmers with government subsidized farm inputs including seedlings and fertilizers.

Mr Charles Akowtigah, Bawku Municipal Director of Agriculture, said this over the weekend in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bawku.

He called on farmers to take advantage of the rains to plant so as to escape the drought period since the rain patterns were not consistent.

Mr Akowtigah said in the case of this farming season, farmers were particularly interested in the Hybrid and the Open Pollinated Variety seedlings (OPV), and explained that the choice of many farmers for this was as result of government subsidy on such seeds, especially maize.

He said previously the hybrid seeds cost GHC 20 per kilogramme while the OPV went for GHC 6 per kilogramme and indicated however that, with the advent of the subsidy, the hybrid cost GHC3 per kilogramme while the OPV cost GHC 2 per kilogramme.

Mr Akwotigah said the government has stocked the district with four types of chemicals including Bypel, Adepa, Emar-Star and Gro safe to fight any form of armyworm that may attack the crops during the season.

He said the Directorate was carrying out training for farmers and extension officers on good farming practices to upgrade their knowledge and skills on farming.

The Director urged the farmers to pay regular visits to their farms and scout for any form of worms on their farms and report to their extension officers for redress.