info@businessghana.com
Ahead of the farming season, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has started the distribution of farm inputs to farmers in the Volta and Eastern regions who were affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage.The first phase of the presentation to the farmers began at Aveyime in the North Tongu District in the Volta Region last Wednesday. Over 3,624 registered farmers in the district are expected to receive various farm inputs, including fertilisers, seeds and agrochemicals to re-commence farming following the destruction of their farms by the spillage last year.
Each farmer received fertilisers based on the size of their farms and the crops they cultivate. In general, each farmer received a minimum of three bags of 50 kilogrammes of NPK fertilisers and a bag of 50 kilogrammes of urea.
The initiative formed part of the implementation of MoFA and the World Bank's $40 million Food Systems Resilience Programme which the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, announced last year after the floods to aid farmers impacted by the Akosombo and Kpong dams spillages.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the acting Volta Regional Director of Agriculture, William Dzamefe, said the intervention was necessary as the government recognised the contributions of smallholder farmers to national food security.
He added that over 60 per cent of farmers affected by the spillage were in the North, Central and South Tongu districts, with North Tongu being the epicentre, hence the commencement of the distribution exercise from that district.
"Farmers within the Lower Basin suffered tremendously when the dam spillage occurred. Today, we want to help them get back on their feet; we are giving them some fertilisers and seeds to restore their farms”.
"Over 60 per cent of the farmers affected by the spillage were from the North, Central and South Tongu districts based on our statistics, with the epicentre being North Tongu covering several hectares of farmlands,” he said.
A maize and cassava farmer, Raymond Letsa Glover, expressed gratitude to the government for the gesture, adding that the intervention came at the right time as farmers were preparing their lands to plant for the farming season.
Another farmer, Doris Asembea, told the Daily Graphic that life had been challenging for her and her family following the devastating impact of the spillage. She said the farm inputs offered her a new hope to restart her farm, and that she hoped to have a great harvest in the farming season.
While commending the intervention, Ms Asembea called for continuous advisory services to the farmers through the extension officers to ensure they improved on farming and harvesting to augment food security.
At the distribution centre at Aveyime, the Daily Graphic observed a gathering of hundreds of farmers, the majority of whom came from Mepe, the area that suffered the most from the spillage to be attended to by the staff of MoFA, regional and district directorates of Agriculture.
The majority of the farmers were aged although a handful of youth were also present to receive the farm inputs.
