Female farmers pondering over their loses
The Upper East Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Francis Ennor, has given assurance that the recent flooding in some districts in the region would not affect the implementation of the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ programme.
According to him, about 40 percent of the crops under the programme were affected by the recent floods, but was hopeful a good number of them would be salvaged if the water levels reduce.
“60 percent of cultivated crops under the programme were not affected by floods, especially in the Eastern side of the region, and so we are hopeful that farmers in the region would have good yield.”
He hinted that many farmers would be able ready to cultivate crops due to the availability of irrigation dams in the area, adding that that can help farmers who were affected by the floods to recover quickly.
The Regional Director of MoFA said last year, the region’s projected yield was not met due to the lack of adequate rainfall and invasion of the farms by the fall Armyworms which caused severe destruction to many farms across the region.
This year, close to 60,000 farmers registered to participate in the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ programme in the Upper East Region, representing about 100 percent increase over the figure recorded in the 2017 farming season.
Mr. Enno disclosed this while interacting with some journalists at Pwualugu in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region after a tour of some affected farms in the area.
The White Volta flows through the Pwualugu area and so many farms were submerged.
Asked if the development could lead to hunger in the district, the District Director of Agriculture, Lantana Osman, said families that were directly affected by the floods might experience some hardship, but not the entire district because others would get good yield.
She was optimistic many farmers in the area would cultivate crops in the dry season to reduce the impact of their loss.
From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Pwualugu
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