Provide storage facilities for ‘planting for food’ programme - Azidoku

Mr Ebenezer Azidoku, the Afram Plains North District Agriculture Director has called on government to provide storage facilities for farmers who would benefit from government’s ‘planting for food and jobs’ programme.

Making the call through the Ghana News Agency (GNA), he said the provision of those storage facilities such as the Improved Narrow Ventilated Crib, silos and grain dryers would enable farmers to produce on a large scale and improve their standard of living.

He said his outfit, at the beginning of the programme, registered 302 farmers in the district and all of them received the improved maize seedlings and fertilizers on time.

Mr. Azidoku said his department received 131 bags of improved seedlings (Obaatanpa), 5,388 bags of NPK and 2,319 bags of Urea from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), which he said was enough for the farmers who registered for the programme in the district.

Most of the farmers, he noted, have planted for both the minor and the major seasons and awaiting harvest before the close of the year.

He said despite the challenges the farmers faced with the invasion of the fall army worm, the programme was successful as MOFA stood in and supplied the farmers with 408 liters of insecticides to combat the worms and 1,200 sachets of insecticides to control other disease to increase yield.

He said his department is still registering farmers for the minor

season and entreated all farmers to visit any Agriculture Office for them to be registered.

He pleaded with the government to provide the necessary logistics such as motor bikes, wellington boots and raincoats to Extension Officers to enable them to carry out their duties effectively.