Bolgatanga, June 11, GNA - Government would continue to subsidize fertilizer and would discontinue the coupon system because of its high administrative cost and diversion of fertilizers to unintended beneficiaries.

The Upper East Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr. Emmanuel Eledi, said this on Thursday when he briefed the Regional Minister, Municipal, District Chief Executives and District Directors of Agriculture on the region's farming programmes. The programmes are the Youth in Agriculture block farming, Northern Rural Growth, Livestock Development Programme, Village Mango Programme and Rice Sector Support Programme.

He said six districts in the Region had been selected to benefit from the livestock component of the Youth in Agriculture programme. The districts are Kasseana-Nankana West, Kassena-Nankana East, Bawku West, Bongo, Bolgatanga and Builsa. Bawku Municipal, Kassena West, Talensi-Nabdam, Bongo, Bawku West, Builsa, Bolgatanga and Garu-Tempani districts would be supported under the block farming project.

Eight districts would undertake soya bean farming and four Districts would also undertake sorghum farming. Mr. Eledi said under the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) the Talensi Nabdam, Bawku West and Kassena-Nankana East districts were facilitating seed production using irrigation at dam sites. He said maize, soya beans and sorghum were targeted under the NRGP that aimed at increasing production of these crops to meet the industrial demand market.

A Rice Sector Support Programme launched in 2008 is being implemented in the Kassena Nankana East, Builsa and Bolgatanga Municipal. He said the National Buffer Stock Company established by Government was also purchasing foodstuff from farmers. Mr Eledi said the reason for the programme was to provide ready market for farm produce at a profitable guaranteed price, to create incentives for increased production to attain food self sufficiency and to assemble adequate raw materials for industries such as the Nasia Rice Mills. The Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, appealed to the stakeholders at the meeting, especially the District Chief Executives, to support the agriculture programme to achieve its set targets. 11 June 10