Zaurungu (UER), June 13, GNA- The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo has appeal to Ghanaians to patronise locally produce rice and other food items, due to their highly nutritional value. "I eat locally produced rice, which is of high nutritional value," he stressed, when he interacted with members of the Single Mothers Association, a community based organisation at Zuarungu, which is engaged in local rice production, but lack market outlets to make profit.

Mr Woyongo said government had plans to support the youth in the region with agricultural inputs to encourage them to increase food production.

The Minister said the programme would span the Fumbisi Valley in the Builsa District where large scale rice production is feasible. He said the move was part of a holistic plan to ensure that locally produced rice was consumed by Ghanaians, especially at the institutional level including the School Feeding Programme. Mr Woyongo assured the Single Mothers that the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) would support them in order to facilitate poverty reduction.

He said the organisation would also benefit from the Sheanut Development Fund, which would be introduced by government to empower them to diversify their businesses. Mrs. Stella Abagre, Programme Co-ordinator of the Association, noted that lack of market for their produce and difficulty in transporting paddy rice for processing are some of their challenges and appealed to the RCC and philanthropic organisations to come to their aid.

The association, which is made up of single mothers from Yorogo, Sumburungo, Bongo, Zaurungu -Moshie, Sirigu, Zaurungu Dabore and Katanga, started in 1998.

It received initial support from international non-governmental organisations, like the German Development Fund, Japanese International Co-operation Agency, Action Aid and Oxfam to undertake rice processing and other skill training. 1