Gomoa Asempanyin (Central Region), 23 Oct.,

The officer in charge of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) agro-forestry programme, Mr. V.A. Gyabin, has called on farmers to practise agro- forestry to conserve land. Mr. Gyabin said the alarming rate at which farming lands are being depleted calls for a pragmatic action to arrest the shifting cultivation system being practised by farmers. He was addressing a forum organised by the people of Gomoa Asempanyin and Gomoa Maim at the weekend to inaugurate their joint projects committee. Mr. Gyabin who deputised for the ADRA director, Mr. George Baiden, explained that the agro-forestry system improves the fertility of the land and enables farmers to cultivate plots of land for longer periods. He said the agency is concentrating its efforts within 50 kilometres in the coastal belt where it is determined to improve the socio-economic activities of the people and ensure food security through agro-forestry. In furtherance to this objective, Mr. Gyabin said the agency has established eleven nurseries along the coastal belt of the country to ensure that enough tree seedlings are made available to farmers.