Accra, Aug. 21, GNA - The government is negotiating for more than 2,000 tractors as part of measures to mechanise agriculture, Mr Clement Eledi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in-charge of Crops announced this on Thursday.

Speaking at an Agriculture forum at Tuba, in Accra, Mr Eledi said some of the tractors would be sold to farmers on credit basis at subsidised prices and the rest put into pools for hiring.

The forum, which was organised by the Ga South Advocacy Group, (GASAG), a sub-civic non-political organisation based in the Ga District, under the Government Accountability Improves Trust (GAIT) programme, being sponsored by Cooperative League of USA (CLUSA) was attended by farmers, fishermen, chiefs and people in the Kokrobite, Bortianor and Weija areas.

As part of the programme the Deputy Minister inspected some irrigated farms in the area and the Weija Irrigation Development project, which is currently not in use due to accrued debts of over 700 million cedis electricity bills owed by the farmers.

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has, therefore, disconnected power to the project, established 20 years ago, for the past five months.

The more than 170 farmers engaged in the cultivation of mainly vegetables are encountering difficulties.

The farmers made a passionate appeal to the government to intervene on their behalf by negotiating with ECG to allow them pay commercial rates instead of the industrial rate they were being made to pay, saying that had increased from 34 million cedis per month to 85 million cedis.

Mr Eledi assured the farmers that he would take particular interest in the disconnection issue, adding that the Ministry was looking holistically at the irrigation system in Ghana and how they are powered. He said a committee has currently been set up to investigate into that area and come up with recommendations that would later be presented to Cabinet for deliberations and the necessary actions to be taken.

He cautioned the chiefs in the area to stop encroaching on the irrigation lands to make such projects viable, adding, "to achieve food security in Ghana, irrigation is indispensable and must be supported by all".

Dr Ebenezar Barnor, Greater Accra Regional Director of Agriculture, advised the farmers to explore the use of manual pumping machines and windmill to cut down on costs.

As part of the forum, a demonstration on how to use water pumps and a talk on food preservation and processing. 21 Aug. 03