Gomoa Ankamu (C/R), April 11, GNA - Thirty-two members of the Gomoa Ankamu branch of Women and Youth Development Association (WOYODA) NGO have undergone a two-week training in mushroom farming at Ankamu near Apam. Mr. Thomas Dodoo, Central Regional Director of Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Industrial Service (GRATIS) Foundation who performed the closing ceremony observed that farmers and entrepreneurs could only fit into the global market when they improved upon their products.

He was happy that the majority of the trainees were women and said the nation could not achieve socio-economic development unless women's contributions were recognised and they were encouraged and motivated. Mr Dodoo appealed to district assemblies, the National Board for Small Scale Industries and the Rural Banks to grant loans to the trainees to establish their own businesses.

Mr. S.M. Abu-Bakar, General Manager, Technical, of the GRATIS Foundation said 3,569 men and women nationwide, had been trained in batik, tie and dye making, beekeeping, grass cutter rearing, mushroom cultivation, snail farming food processing, soap, powder and pomade making, since the GRATIS skills training programme started in 2000.

Mr Abu-Bakar said GRATIS in collaboration with the Regional Technology Transfer Centres RTTCs and Rural Technology Service centres RTSCs had manufactured equipment for agriculture and food processing sectors to help eliminate the drudgery involved in traditional production methods and to reduce post harvest losses.

Mrs. Ama Benyiwa-Doe, MP for Gomoa West appealed to the organisers of the training programme to find markets for the produce since the lack of markets discouraged a lot of farmers from going into production.

She urged the trainees to keep proper records of their activities to enable them know whether their businesses were progressing or otherwise.

Mr. Emmanuel Acquah, the resource persons said there was high demand for mushrooms and assured the farmers that their products would be exported. Alhaji Moro Fukuyama, National Coordinator of WOYA expressed gratitude to Canadian International Development Agency CIDA for providing funds for the training workshop.