Twifo-Heman (C/R), Oct 8, GNA- The District Chief Executive for Twifo-Heman-Lower-Denkyira, Mr Abraham Odoom, said on Tuesday that the President's Special Initiative (PSI) on cocoa and oil palm has helped to reduce poverty level in the area
He said the initiative and the hi-tech system of cocoa cultivation, has improved the yield of the crop from two bags per acre to between 10 to 15 bags and this is being realised every three weeks during harvesting.
Mr Odoom said this when Mr Asamoah Boateng, a Deputy Minister of Information, met heads of decentralised departments and staff of the Assembly at Twifo Praso as part of his weeklong working visit to the Central Region
The initiative, he said, has also been complemented by a poverty reduction project known as Diversity Utilisation Development. This, he explained, provides an alternative livelihood like rearing of snails and grass-cutters and the cultivation of leafy vegetables. Mr Boateng said he was impressed with achievements made in the cocoa and oil palm industries and appealed to the farmers to continue to work hard to move Ghana from its present position of being the second to the first producer of cocoa in the world.
He also appealed to the staff and heads of departments to continue to work with zeal and dedication for the socio-economic development of the nation.
On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) he said those who are not workers in the public sector and are not contributors to SSNIT would be required to pay 2,000 cedis per month to benefit from the scheme.
He said not all illnesses will be catered for under the scheme and mentioned stroke, cancer and hypertension as expensive to treat and would have to be borne by the patients.
