Andrews Teddy Ofori, Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has said that 2,601 farmers in the Hohoe Municipality have benefitted from Planting for Food and Jobs with subsidised inputs such as seeds and fertilizer.

He said a total of 20,000 coffee and cocoa seedlings have also been distributed to farmers under the Planting for Export and Rural Development while 20 livestock farmers have been supplied with 50 improved pig breeds.

He also said the Assembly had begun the supply of piglets to livestock farmers as well as feeds for pigs, pigsty and goat pens.

He said free insecticides have been distributed to 1,678 farmers as support to control fall armyworms.

Tree planting projects he said were ongoing with the distribution of free tree seedlings with about 100 youth undertaking the tree planting project in the Municipality under the Youth in Afforestation programme.

Mr. Ofori said farmer-based groups in Akpafu and Alavanyo have been trained in Organisational Safety Health and Environmental Management to enhance their knowledge in hazards analysis and critical control points to enable them meet food processing standards for exports.

He noted that the Assembly would distribute 12,000 oil palm seedlings to farmers by the end of 2020.

Mr Ofori explained that the declining soil fertility, inadequate market for farm produce, high post-harvest losses, limited technology in farming, poor condition of access roads to farms, difficulty in accessing land for farming and the nature of land requiring high capital to prepare are challenges affecting agriculture in the Municipality.