Accra, July 6, GNA - Mr Ernest Akubuor Debrah, Minister of Food and Agriculture, on Thursday reiterated that the Government was supporting 10,000 cotton farmers in the three northern regions with 20 billion cedis.

He explained that the support, which was mainly in the form of agro inputs, was being channelled to the farmers through organized, recognized and reputable companies.

Addressing the media in Accra over a newspaper report that sought to refute the Minister's assertion of Government's support for the farmers, Mr Debrah named the Ghana Cotton Company Limited (GCCL); Nulux Plantation Limited and Plantation Development Limited as the companies through which the support was being channelled.

The Ghanaian Chronicle in its edition of Thursday, June 29 reported that the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) had organized a press conference in Tamale and refuted the Minister's assertion of the support to the cotton farmers.

Explaining further and showing letters of correspondence between the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance covering application for release of funds for procurement of certified cotton seeds and ploughing of lands, among others, Mr Debrah said a total of 10,000 hectares would be cultivated within the year.

He noted that so far an amount of 4.6 billion cedis had already been released to the GCCL for ploughing and procurement of 300 tonnes of certified cotton seeds, which had been imported from Burkina Faso for distribution to the farmers.

Mr Debrah said ploughing of all the 10,000 hectares had been completed, the seeds had been sown and the application of fertilizer had commenced.

"Additionally, a further sum of 16 billion cedis has been earmarked to support farmers in the three cotton companies mentioned above." He said in compliance with current procurement practices, advertisements had been placed in the newspapers for people to bid to procure agro-chemicals, and the process had been scheduled for completion by July 20, 2006 for the inputs to be provided to the farmers through the companies.

"This brings the total support provided by the Government to the cotton industry this year to 20.6 billion cedis as I stated in the interview with the Daily Graphic," Mr Debrah said.

The Minister stated that the biggest challenge facing the cotton industry in Ghana was the issue of good seeds as most seeds currently being used by farmers were of low yielding variety. "The low yield per hectare, therefore, does not make us competitive in the world market. If the issue of low yielding seed is not resolved, no amount of Government intervention can solve the problems of the cotton industry."

He said that was why the Government had contacted the Ghana Mission in Burkina Faso to arrange for the importation of 300 tonnes of high yielding cotton seeds to boost local production. To provide a long-term solution to the issues of seed, Mr Debrah said the Ministry had given support to the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) to develop improved seeds for use by cotton farmers. SARI has, therefore, come out with three seed varieties of which, the National Varietals Release Committee has released two for multiplication. Mr Debrah consequently gave the assurance that the Government was committed to the rehabilitation of the cotton industry as the vehicle for the revival of the textile industry in Ghana. He advised all cotton farmers to join organized and recognized companies to enable them to access Government support. 6 July 06