Niator, (UWR), Dec. 4, GNA - Mr Robert Bakah Wavei, Sissala West District Chief Executive (DCE), has expressed disappointment at the inability of at least a farmer in the district to receive an award for vegetable production.

He said although a number of dams had been constructed for some communities by Plan Ghana, the beneficiary communities were not making good use of the dams. Mr Wavei was addressing the 26th District Farmers Day celebration held at Niator in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region. It was on the theme: "Grow More Food".

He therefore called on the people of the district to take vegetable farming seriously in order to better their lot. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, he stated, and urged farmers to consult extension officers without hesitation for new technologies in agriculture to improve their yields. Mr Wavei said the government was instituting measures to boost agricultural production in the country through fertilizer subsidy, block farming and livestock production among others. Mr Adamu Seidu Vasco, District Director of Agriculture, announced that a total of 1,500 acres of maize, 100 acres of soya bean and 60 acres of rice were cultivated under the block farming project. He said 80 farmers were provided with sheep and goats for rearing which they would pay back within two years.

He advised farmers to practice organic farming by making good use of the large chunk of manure produced by their animals. A 48-year-old man from Liplime, Kenkeni Neyra, was adjudged the best farmer in the district. He took home a motor bike, a pair of Wellington boots and a cutlass. Other farmers were also honoured and they received sewing machines, pieces of wax prints and cutlasses. 4 Dec. 10