Make farming businesslike- Agriculturist

Peki-Dzake, (V/R) Dec. 3, GNA - Mr. Kuegbi Dormekpor, South-Dayi District Director of Agriculture has called on farmers and fishermen to make their occupational groups look more businesslike to enable them to secure credit to expand their businesses. He reminded them however, that credit was not a gift and must be paid back on schedule.

Mr Dormekpor was addressing the maiden Farmers Day Durbar of the newly created South-Dayi District at Peki-Dzake in the Volta Region. He said government had made a number of financial "intermediations that would enable farmers have access to adequate financing to improve upon agricultural production".

Mr Dormekpor said among credit facilities being offered by government were the Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) and the Food and Agriculture Budgetary Supports (FABs), a facility from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). He said the "South-Dayi District Agricultural Development Unit was promoting the use of mucuna rpt mucuna- a leguminous plant as a cover crop that will not only check soil erosion, conserve soil moisture but also add nutrients to the soil to reduce the use of costly chemical fertilizers". The 2005 Farmers Day, the 21st in the series, was under the theme "Agricultural Production and Productivity: Key to Growth and Poverty Reduction".

Ms Woyram Boachie-Danquah, District Chief Executive (DCE) spoke against the indiscriminate felling of trees and setting of bush fires. She asked communities along the Volta Lake and other rivers to stop farming along riverbanks adding, "if we want to enjoy the conducive environment that our forefathers enjoyed then we must stop all these". Twenty-two individual farmers and five institutions were awarded prizes. Mr. Stephen Kwao a maize farmer at Todome was adjudged the district's overall best farmer.