The Gusheigu District Assembly in the Northern Region has organized this year’s farmers day under the theme: “Agriculture: Moving Ghana Beyond Aid.”
Some deserving farmers were rewarded for their contribution to promoting food security in the area and beyond.
The Gusheigu District Chief Executive (DCE), Musah Issah in an address explained that the theme was in recognition of the agriculture sectors contribution to jobs creation and foreign exchange earnings.
This, he said was in line withPresident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Ado’s Ghana Beyond Aid mantra.
“Indeed, implementing this vision, government is committed to changing the structure of the economy, especially the agriculture sector. Consequently, the challenges facing this sector, such as outmoded technology, poor infrastructure and access to market and high post-harvest losses are being vigorously tackled.”
“To modernise the sector, government seeks to construct 570 dams in the three regions of the north in 2019 and invest close to 1 billion Dollars in road infrastructureunder the Sino Hydro Intervention.”
Musah Issah said the government would construct 50 warehouses nationwide under the Ghana Buffer Stock Company to preserve farm produce for future use.
“In an effort to modernize the Agriculture Sector, the New Patriotic Party upon assumption of office rollout the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJs) Programme in 2017.”
“Following a year of its implementation, the agricultural sector witnessed a growth rate of 8.4 percent in 2017 after almost a decade of erratic sector performance with an average growth rate of 3.4 percent. In spite of this marked growth in the sector, the programme was bedeviled with the challenges of the fall armyworm infestation and poor recovery rate of inputs.”
He disclosed the debt the assembly incurred in relation to the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme implementation saying, “As a result, the Department of Agriculture in the Municipality was able to recover only a total amount of GH ¢17,467.00 from an expected amount of GH ¢ 325,612.25, representing a recovery rate of only 5.5%.”
The Gusheigu DCE said in spite of the debt; the programme was expanded in 2018 to cover the post-harvest losses.
“With a target of 500,000 farmers, a total of 577,000 farmers were supplied with subsidized fertilizers and seeds nationwide for the cropping season, and we expect another highly successful year.”
“In 2019, the government plans to expand the programme to cover over a million farmers across the country. The government will also launch the livestock model of Planting for Food and Jobs called “Rearing for Food and Jobs” (RFJ) with the objective of increasing the production of selected livestock, especially poultry to reduce our large food imports of over Two (2)Billion Dollars every year.”
“I wish to use therefore this opportunity to appeal to the defaulting farmers to settle their indebtedness or face further sanctions. I also urge the youth to position themselves and take advantage of the opportunities in the current agriculture policy drive. Poverty reduction is the focus of Government, and this is the area in which all organizations in the area of agriculture are assiduously working and partnering with government.”
Musah Issah announced government’s Public-Private-Partnership drive with a private investor to build a Soya BeanProcessing Factory in the Gusheigu Municipality.
He said the government was committed to boosting rice production to reduce its importation.
“In the case of the rice sector, the Government’s strategy is to increase productivity through higher yields of rice by expanding production areas in irrigated schemes, valleys and low lands around the country. This strategy will be underpinned by making available to farmers, improved and certified seeds, subsidized fertilizers, enhanced access to mechanized harvesters to reduce post-harvest losses due to traditional labor-intensive threshing, and encourage private sector investment in milling facilities. This will ensure that the quality of locally processed rice will be on par with imported rice.”
“In line with this initiative, the Department of Agriculture is collaborating with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to establish five farmers’ fields at Bogu, Gushegu, Kpatili, Sampebga, and Zinindo to demonstrate the Municipality’s sustainable rice farming techniques. The yields of these fields were encouraging; ranging between 11 and 24 bags per acre. It is, therefore, our expectation that we continue to enjoy this cooperation to ensure that we double the field demonstrations in 2019 cropping season.”
He thanked the assembly’s development partners for their unflinching support overtime.
“I acknowledge the contributions of our Development partners such as USAID RING Project for contributing immensely to rural agriculture livelihoods. We also acknowledge the role of the Northern Ghana Governance Activity (NGGA) Programme which seeks to provide platforms for Agriculture sector policy dialogue amongst stakeholders in the Municipality.”
“I wish to, therefore, reaffirm our commitment and cooperation to the implementation of these interventions towards improving the living standards of people in our Municipality.”
According to Musah Issah, the government has awarded on contract the Gusheigu water system for rehabilitation and expansion.
“An approval for the award of the contract has been granted to two separate contractors (Messrs Pumptech Limitedand Messrs Construction Dynamics Limited)by the Regional Tender Committee, Northern Regional Coordinating Council, Tamale at a cost of Two Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty-two Cedis, Forty-Three Pesewas(GH ¢ 2,963,832.43) and Six Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Nine Thousand, Two Hundred and Forty-Seven Cedis, Forty-Eight Pesewas (GH ¢ 6, 559,247.48)respectively.”
“Major components of the system will include, the provision of two new pump stations and rehabilitation of the existing one, provision of a new storage tank and rehabilitation of the existing one, additional public standpipes and rehabilitation of the existing ones, household connections, existing transmission and distribution lines rehabilitated and formation of ST-WSMT among others. All these activities per the project will kick-start this year and completely 2019.”
He bemoaned the alarming rate at which bushfires were destroying livelihood in the area and called for an end to such inhumane practice.
“Bush burning has just begun in some parts of the Gushegu municipality at an alarming rate. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the people of Bogu and for that matter, the people of this Municipality to discourage bushfires in our communities. We all know how destructive bushfires can be, and therefore humbly appeal to our chiefs to support me in this fight.”
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah |citinewsroom.com | Ghana