Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu
THE CONDITION of some rural roads in the country is to be improved next year to boost agricultural production and facilitate the transportation of farm produce to the market, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has revealed.
According to him, funding has been earmarked for resurfacing work, which will begin immediately after the programmes of work have been completed.
Addressing the maiden Farmers’ Day celebration by the newly created Suame Municipality in the Ashanti Region, the minister said the construction work would make a big difference for farmers and rural community dwellers who rely on these roads.
He commended all farmers in the country for their sustained hard work in feeding the nation and contributing to the economic growth of the country.
Mr. Mensah-Bonsu, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, disclosed that government has a lot of programmes under its sleeves to transform Ghana’s agriculture besides the epic agricultural revolution programme – Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ).
He stated that the PFJ is not only meant to create jobs, but also to feed agricultural industries under the One District One Factory (1D1F) programme.
He reiterated government’s plan to construct irrigation dams across the country to take away the rain-fed agriculture syndrome and boost agricultural production, pointing out that 600 of the dams would be constructed in the Northern Region alone.
The minister asserted that agriculture production increased for the year 2018 crop season despite the fall armyworm invasion, and added that Ghana exports maize to some West African nations.
He said government had targeted 890 metric tons of cocoa for the 2018/19 planting season ahead of its intention to hit the one-million-ton mark.
The Suame Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Dr. John Bobbie Ansah, said the Assembly intends to support many of the young people in the municipality to take advantage of the PFJ programme.
According to him, plans are underway to acquire a 5,000-acre land for maize cultivation by the Assembly, indicating that a meeting to that effect had already taken place.
In the end, a Baptist clergy woman, Gertrude Owusuwaa Konadu, was adjudged the overall Best Farmer for the Suame Municipality.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi