A total of 12,808 urban agricultural farmers in the Kumasi Metropolis have been provided with a variety of high-yielding vegetable seeds for cultivation under the 'Planting for Food and Jobs (PfJ) programme.

In all, 29,597 sachets of vegetable seeds, ranging from tomatoes, pepper, onions, cabbage, carrots, cucumber to lettuce, have been provided to the beneficiary farmers.

Mr Osei Assibey-Antwi, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), said over 4,357 cereal farmers have also benefitted from the distribution of 188,338 kilogrammes (kg) of OPV maize seeds, 12,025 kg hybrid maize seeds and 20,000 kg rice seeds over the last two years.

Additionally, a total of 126,928 bags of fertilizer had been distributed to more than 23,000 farmer-beneficiaries.

Mr Assibey-Antwi, who made this known at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly's (KMA) 'Meet-the-Press', said the government's PfJ programme had received encouraging patronage from the people.

The programme introduced by the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration focuses on addressing the declining growth of Ghana's agricultural sector.

It is a five-year-long policy geared towards increasing food productivity and ensure food security for the country, as well as reducing to the barest minimum the high food import bills.

Mr Assibey-Antwi said the country's economic development was agriculturally-driven, citing the number of people whose livelihood and day-to-day activities were closely linked to the sector.

He advised that the youth availed themselves of the PfJ programme to help bring improvement in their lives.

Beneficiary farmers, he said, should make good use of materials they were provided with for increased productivity.