Koforidua, Dec. 21, GNA - The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has said the Regional Co-ordinating Council(RCC) was collaborating with an investor to establish a cold chain system in Koforidua to export fresh fruits to help reduce post harvest looses in the region. He said this when the National Best Farmer and other farmers from the Eastern Region who won national awards on Farmers' Day called on him. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said between 65 to 70 per cent of the people in the region are engaged in farming, hence the RCC believes that when efforts are put in to solve the problems confronting agriculture, unemployment in the region could be reduced.

He said next year the government would be implementing the youth in agriculture module of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) and promised the award winners that the RCC would collaborate with them to implement the programme by bringing some of the youth to their farms and learn from them.

The National Best Farmer, Mr Davies Narh Korboe, called for the extension of state support given to the cocoa farmers to other crop farmers and expressed the hope that with such support Ghana could achieve the same feat that it had chalked in cocoa.

Among the award winners who visited the Regional Minister were Mr Abraham Adusei of the Saviour Church of Ghana, the Eastern Regional Best Farmer and the first runner-up, Mr Richard Amponsah of the Pentecost University.