VR 2010 Best Farmer suggests establishment of settlement farms

Ho, Aug 18, GNA - Mr Francis Atubra, 2010 Volta Regional Best Farmer, on Thursday suggested the establishment of settlement farms with linkages to marketing centres to significantly boost agricultural production in the country.

He was speaking on the topic: 91'Modernizing Agriculture to Feed Ghana-The Role of the Volta Region'', during the on-going second of the dialogue sessions at the Volta Regional Policy Fair in Ho. Mr Atubra, a Consultant on the environment, said a settlement farm with the essential trappings of a modern-day dwelling should attract people to farm.

He said if people undergo training and are provided with farming inputs on sustainable bases, coupled with high earnings from their produce they would patronage farming. Mr Atubra said the small-holder farming, using old methods, would not be able to provide food security for the country in view of population increase.

He called on agriculture policy makers and farmers to make use of research findings by the universities and research institutes. Mr Atubra advocated integration of mixed-farming into agricultural development policy, and said frequent changes in agricultural policies regarding finances and inputs supply could negatively affect food production.

Mr Seth Kofi Akah, Senior Lecturer at the Ho Polytechnic, said modernization of agriculture should tackle low technology use in the sector, dependence on rain, credit for farmers among others. During an open forum, Mr John Tumaku suggested that entrepreneurship should be taught at the basic education level to give business management skills to people venturing into farming.