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UER
Recovering Fast from Flood Disaster – Regional Director-MOFA
Zebilla (UER) Dec. 08, Ghanadot/GNA – Mr. Roy Ayariga, Upper
East Regional Director of Agriculture on Friday said the
Region is recovering fast in the area of food production,
from the disaster of the past floods.
He said the early dry season cropping had recorded high
yields of water melons, onions, pepper and tomatoes.
Mr. Ayariga who spoke at the Regional Farmers Day
celebration in Zebilla, said the floods left a lot of water
and fertile soil which the farmers made good use of, while
the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) supplied them
with seed and fertilizer.
He said MOFA planned to promote the cultivation of tree
crops that would provide food, income and serve as a means
for improving the environment.
Mr. Ayariga appealed to Chiefs and land owners in the region
to ease the process of acquiring land to enable women grow
fruit and fuel wood trees, saying, “Women take better care
of trees from seedlings to maturity and our traditions
should permit them to acquire lands for tree crops”.
He urged District Assemblies to assist the youth with land
preparation, using the tractors MOFA had allocated to them.
Mrs. Agnes Chigabatia, Deputy Regional Minister said most of
the farmers , especially those who did not do irrigation
farming this dry season, still needed assistance in the form
of seed and credit to be able to undertake farming next
year.
She called for the reconstruction of irrigation dams, roads
and bridges that would facilitate production and marketing
as rain fed agriculture was unreliable, saying, that was the
only way to have sustainable Agriculture and development in
the region.
Mr. John Akunde Anani, a 54 year old farmer from Tiili in
the Bawku West District was adjudged the best farmer in the
region and for his prize, given one corn mill, one sewing
machine, one radio, one piece of cloth, one bicycle a pair
of Wellington boots, a spraying machine two sachets of
fungicides and four machetes.
Mr. Anani has a 280 hectare farm land and cultivates millet,
maize, sorghum, groundnuts Soya bean and rice. He also does
animal husbandry and has 120 cattle, 160 sheep five donkeys,
guinea fowls and rabbits.
He grows trees and has 16 mango trees, 23 cashew, 300 shea
trees 25 Dawadawa and 15 moringa trees.
Mr. Dominic Mbilla, from Bawku was the best onion farmer,
while Mr. Adumpo Akanansa from Bulisa District came best for
rice and Awuni Atiiga, from Garu Tempane best for
groundnuts, they all received similar prizes like the best
farmer’s except the corn mill.
Thirteen other farmers were awarded prizes for being best
farmers of various crops, animal husbandry and fishing.
GNA
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