Accra, June 29, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has asked the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to double its support to help fend off the re-surfacing avian flu plague.

This comes in the wake of the recent reported cases of the disease in some border areas of Ghana, including Tema and Sunyani. President Kufuor made the call when the FAO Director-General, Mr Jacque Diouf, who is in the country to participate in the Ninth African Union (AU) Summit paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu. He said Ghana was pleased with the high level of co-operation it has been enjoying from the Organisation.

The Government, he said, was giving serious attention to agriculture in the believe that if the country could produce enough food to feed itself and cut back on food imports like rice, it would be making giant progress at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

President Kufuor said it was on account of this that the Government has increased budgetary allocation to the sector and vigorously pushing with the diversification of the country's agriculture. Mr. Diouf congratulated Ghana for the progress it was making in the agricultural sector, citing the National Programme for Food Security. He said the 8.6 percent allocation to the sector was equally laudable and hoped that the Government would add the remaining 1.4 per cent to hit 10 per cent.

The FAO Director-General pledged support to address the problem of the avian flu through strengthening of the capacity of the Veterinary Services as well as regional co-operation.