The Sunyani Municipal Assembly (SMA) supplied 109 farmers with improved cassava planting materials under the Root and Tuber Improvement Programme during the 2012 Crop Season.

In addition, it provided 30 farmers with improved seed maize and fertilizer to cultivate 50 acres of land, in block farming during the 2013 Crop Season. These were announced by Mr Kwasi Oppong-Ababio, Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive when addressing the Third Ordinary Meeting of the Assembly in Sunyani, on Wednesday.

He explained that the reduction in beneficiaries for 2013 was due to the late supply of farming inputs and low market price of maize in 2012. Mr Oppong-Ababio said 3,129 bags of fertilizer of different varieties were distributed at subsidized prices to individual farmers to help improve agricultural productivity in the Municipality.

However, he expressed worry that while these were laudable efforts; “The Youth-in-Agriculture Programme is experiencing loan recovery challenges, as only 30 per cent of the loans were recovered during the 2012 farming season”.

Mr Oppong-Ababio announced that the First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, would launch her nationwide campaign on Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and AIDS in Sunyani on Friday November 1.

He explained that the campaign being embarked on by Mrs Mahama was in fulfillment of the objectives of the Organisation of African First Ladies’ (OAFLs) enforcement of the PMTCT of HIV/AIDS and campaign on reproductive health.

As part of the launch, a durbar of chiefs and people of the Municipality would be held at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital, while HIV and AIDS, cervical and breast cancer screening would be undertaken.