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The Bongo District
Directorate of Agriculture this week took delivery of 6,040 bags of NPK
fertilizer from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in readiness
for the implementation of the government's "Planting for Food and Jobs"
programme.
Bongo District
Director of the Agriculture, Mr. Dra Edgar, who received the
consignment, said his outfit was also expecting an additional
consignment of maize, rice, sorghum and soya bean seeds at a later date
before it would commence distribution to farmers.
According to Mr.
Dra, seven articulated trucks from a fertilizer company, named AMG,
brought in the consignment under the instructions of the Minister of
Food and Agriculture. He revealed that so far 2,443 potential
beneficiary farmers had been registered while a two-week window remained
opened for a continuous registration of more farmers onto the
programme. He was hopeful that if the first batch of beneficiaries made a
good recovery, it would encourage government to expand the programme in
the district and in other sister districts.
Bongo District
Chief Executive (DCE), Mr. Ayinbisa Ayamga Peter, in an interview with
the ISD expressed his excitement at the arrival of the fertilizer in his
district, adding that it would boost the morale of farmers to go into
this year's farming season with hope.
Mr. Ayinbisa
allayed the fears of skeptics who hold views that the programme would
fail emphasising that, "our President Nana Addo Dankwa akuffo-Addo, told
the Ghanaian public that he was going to make farming very attractive
and this has been exemplified in the Planting for Food and Jobs
Programme as it is being rolled out now." He added that with the
distribution of the subsidised fertilizer, which will cost only 27.00
Ghana Cedis per bag coupled with the supply of improved seeds, he was
optimistic the programme would produce the intended results.
The DCE also noted
that the enthusiasm farmers in the area showed in getting involved in
the programme, was enough indication that the public had bought into the
intervention. He observed that the successful implementation of the
programme would bring about better yields for framers, result in quality
farm produce and also increase the profits of especially the rural
farmer. He disclosed that as per the briefing he received from the
director of agriculture, he expected over 5,000 farmers to be registered
onto the programme from across the district.
Mr. Ayinbisa
however warned against any smuggling of the highly subsidised fertilizer
and other farm inputs into neighbouring Togo and Burkina Faso,
stressing that he had held a meeting with the district's security chiefs
and instructed them to intensify surveillance at both approved and
unapproved exit points in the district in order to arrest and
appropriately deal with any culprits.
He also cautioned
beneficiary farmers to do their best to pay back the cost of inputs to
government, which could either be in cash or in kind, so that other
farmers would also benefit from the programme in the coming years.
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