Wassa Saa (W/R), Dec. 5, GNA - Some 24 farmers and fishermen

were on Friday presented with various awards at the 26th Western

Regional and Wassa Amenfi East District Farmers Day celebration at

Wassa Saa. Mr Kofi Asong of Juabeso was adjudged the Regional Best Farmer

and Mr John Rexford Arthur of Ahanta West, the Regional Best

Fisherman. Mr Enoch Nuvi of Shama won the Regional Best Coconut Farmer

while Mr Thomas Tobil won the Regional Best Oil Palm Farmer. About 23 other farmers were presented with awards at the district

level with Nana Gyatua emerging the Wassa Amenfi East District Best

Farmer. Other award winners were Miss Rita Opoku, Best Handicap

Farmer, Mr Joseph Buadi, Best Piggery Farmer, Mr Abraham Donkor,

Best Oil Palm Farmer and Mr Atta Adu-Gyamfi, Best Rubber Farmer. The awards comprised corn-mill, sewing machine, wax prints,

machetes, Wellington boots, deep freezers, sound systems, bags of

cement and wall clocks. Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, said the region

currently produced the highest percentage of the main agricultural

exports of the country. "We can mention the production of crops like cocoa, oil palm,

rubber, fish, rice, plantain and livestock in which the region is on top of

the national ladder and government expects this to grow by 10 per cent

by 2015," he said. Mr Aidoo said government expected to achieve this target by

raising budgetary allocation for the sector totalling 221.6 million Ghana

cedis for major interventions in food security, agriculture

modernization and productivity. He said to raise productivity agricultural mechanization would be

accelerated through the establishment of Agricultural Mechanization

and Service Centres (AMSEC). Mr Aidoo said government would also in 2011 support the private

sector to build capacity in the local production and assemble

appropriate and affordable agricultural machinery, tools and other

equipment. He said in the cocoa sector, government would continue to

implement policy measures to enable the sector to contribute

significantly to the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mr Aidoo said an amount of 104.4 million Ghana cedis would be

spent on the Cocoa Disease and Pest Control Programme to mitigate

the risks associated with pest attacks and diseases. He said COCOBOD would spend 10.2 million Ghana cedis to

intensify the treatment and control of cocoa swollen shoot disease.

Mrs Opoku Asiamah, Regional Director of the Ministry of Food

and Agriculture, said the Ministry instituted the Youth in Agriculture

Programme to harness the abilities of the youth in the agricultural

sector. She said the region joined the programme this year with a target of

1,500 hectares for Block Farms development. Mrs Asiamah said government made resources available to facilitate

the cultivation of 100 hectares of rice grain, 400 hectares of maize grain

and 100 hectares of assorted vegetables. She said despite all the support given by the Regional Coordinating

Council and the various assemblies in this direction, the region could

only achieve about 24.3 per cent of the target. Mrs Asiamah said there were serious challenges with availability of

land and the youth willing to participate in the programme although

government was ready to make available the needed inputs. She said; "Our youth are more attracted to Galamsey Operations

leaving the honourable work of food production to our aging

population. The trend must change for the benefit of our Better Ghana

Agenda". Mrs Asiamah said the Ministry, in a bid to improve protein

resource, has supplied 3,810 cockerels at subsidized prices to 291

farmers in seven districts. She said as the project was going to run for five years every

metropolitan, municipal and district would have its fair share of the

cockerels. Mrs Asiamah said an Agricultural Mechanization Centre has been

set up at Prestia in the Ahanta West District where farmers could hire

tractors for mechanized services. She said some 25 water pumps and eight sprinkler sets of irrigation

facilities had been made available to farmers on hire purchase basis to

enhance dry season farming in the region.