Mampong (Ash), Jan 9, GNA - Ministers of State have been called upon to go into farming to give practical meaning to the national food security agenda.

Apart from making them have a feel of what it takes to farm, it would also motivate the youth to emulate them and go into farming as a vocation after school.

Mr Peter A. Sarkodie, Asante-Mampong constituency chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), made the call at an end-of-year get-together for polling station executive at Mampong on Thursday.

He said the initiative when accepted, would trickle down to the district level where District Chief Executives would embrace it to dispel the notion that farming was for the illiterate and the poor in society and to a large extent increase food and animal production. Mr Sarkodie, a lecturer in Chemistry at the Mampong Campus of the University of Education, Winneba, lauded the President's Special Initiative (PSI) on cassava and noted that it had significantly improved the lot of the people.

He urged the polling station executive to renew their strength as this year's general elections campaign draws near.

Mr Solomon Kwabena Sarfo, Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong, catalogued the many projects he had undertaken with his share of the common fund and HIPC fund.

He urged the electorate to orientate their minds towards what they can do for their country and not what their country can do for them. Mr Thomas Edward Atakorah, the Sekyere West District Chief Executive, said over 90 percent of roads in the district had been awarded on contract and gave the assurance that they will be completed by the end of the year notwithstanding the slow pace of work. Mr Alex Oduro, a party member and a tutor at the Saint Monica's Secondary School at Mampong, deplored the water situation in the district.

He appealed to the party executive to close their ranks so that with unity of purpose, they could win more votes in this year's elections.