'Irrigation would guarantee food security'

Mr Lemuel Quarshie Martey, 2012 National Best Farmer, has called for the intensification of irrigation to protect farmers from the vagaries of rain-fed agriculture.

“Let us take another look at the vision of Kwame Nkrumah and use the volumes of water which freely flow into the sea and other sources of water to irrigate farmlands throughout the country which is a sustainable way of cultivating the food we desperately need throughout the year,” he said.

Mr Martey, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Afienya on Thursday, said rainfall pattern for the year 2013 was not favourable, especially to small scale farmers that solely depended on rain.

He asked government to show keen interest in the work of urban farmers as well as those in deprived communities because they played complementary roles to ensure food security in the country.

Mr Martey therefore called for a farmers' fund that would afford farmers soft loans during planting and harvesting seasons to meet market demands.

He also appealed to government to support mechanized agriculture by subsidizing farm implements such as the ploug