About 50 smallholder farmers at Fazihini in the Savelugu/Nanton Municipality have been screened for diabetes, hypertension and hepatitis B.

The health screening was also to create awareness on the need to be health conscious and for one to take control of their health concerns.

It was undertaken by the Community Empowerment and Development System (CEDS - Ghana), a civil society organization, with funding from Agri-Business and Development Service Company Limited (ADSEC) as part of its Smallholder Farmers Support Project.

A total of 3,500 smallholder farmers in 10 other districts in the Northern Region will also benefit from the health screening exercise.

Mr Jacob Mansu, Executive Director of CEDS – Ghana, who spoke during the health screening exercise at Fazihini on Saturday, said smallholder farmers play very important roles in ensuring food security adding that there is the need for them to be health conscious to continue to produce to feed the increasing population.

Mr Simon Masak, Executive Director of ADSEC, lauded the initiative saying it would make the farmers healthy and productive.

Mr Alhassan Alhassan, member of the Wumpini Farmers Association, thanked CEDS - Ghana and its funding partner for extending the health screening exercise to the community saying it has enlightened them.