The Yendi Municipality has a population of 117,780, made of 58,920 male and 58,860 female and 60 percent of them are predominantly farmers who produce large quantities of food crops including yams.

The Yendi Municipal Director of Agriculture Madam Abiba Musah announced this when she addressed a consultative forum to collate citizens’ inputs into 2019 composite budget organised by SEND GHANA and Northern Ghana Governance Activity (NGGA) project and funded by USAID for farmers in the Yendi Municipality at Yendi in the Northern Region.

Madam Abiba said the department has only five Agricultural Extension Agents and two of them are Veterinary Officers who have recently joined them to carry out the work of the Agricultural Extension Agents. She indicated that the monitoring staff in the office have also left their monitoring duties and have also joined the Agricultural Extension Agents on the field to sensitize farmers on government objective of improving farming activities through the flagship farmers’ initiative, “Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.”

According to the Agriculture Director from January to February 2017 farmers were sensitized on PFJ programme but in 2018 the programme changes because they had to issue coupons to farmers to buy NKP and UREA fertilizers and at subsidize price.

She noted that the department also organized demonstration on rice extension programme and formed farmers groups to check the army worms in their farmers. Touching on grant recovery, she said only 61 percent of the payment had been recovered and noted that the department was are encouraging defaulters to pay.

Mr. Jonathan Dery Project Officer of SEND GHANA/NGGA indicated that the forum was organized for the citizens to contribute their inputs for the 2019 budget. Mr. Dery said every year the government and the Assembly take funds from the central government to provide services to people, adding that at the end of the day the budget must reflect on Agriculture, Health, and Education among others.

He said USAID is funding the project for SEND GHANA / NGGA, to implement.

Mr. Abdul-Rahaman Adam Yendi Municipal Budget Analyst said the broad frame work for the preparation of the 2019 – 2022 budget is the National Medium Term Development Policy frame work (2018 – 2021) which is informed by the President’s coordinated programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (CP) 2017 – 2024 which is to create the conditions for the private sector to thrive in order to propel growth and create employment opportunities, especially for the youth.

He indicated that the Medium Term Agenda for 2019 – 2022 is anchored on restoring the economy, transforming Agriculture and industry.  According to the Budget Analyst in line with the Medium – Term Focus of government, priority has been given to the areas of infrastructure for poverty eradication programme, intervention programmes in key sectors of Education and Health, such as the Free Senior High School and Road and Rail Development.