Half-Assini, Dec 02, GNA - Twenty-Five farmers were on Friday presented with awards at the Western Regional Farmers' Day held at Half-Assini. Mr Philip Kobiri, a farmer at Juabeso, emerged as the regional overall best farmer.

Mr Anthony Evans Amoah, Western Regional Minister, presented him with a corn mill, a sewing machine, machetes, wax print, Wellington boots, a spraying machine, a radio cassette recorder, T-shirts and a certificate. Mr Seidu Adamu of Bibiani, a former Deputy Regional Minister, won the regional best maize farmer award and Mr Daniel Boye Manu of Amenfi East, had the best regional physically challenged farmer award.

The award winners also included Mr Emmanuel Kwaku Odwire of Jomoro District, overall regional best fisherman, Mr Enoh Gamel of Mpohor Wassa East, best regional oil palm farmer and Mr Joseph Wangala of Jomoro District, best coconut farmer.

The awards included ghetto blasters, bicycles, wax prints, fungicide, machete and Wellington boots.

Seventeen other farmers were honoured for their contribution to the development of agriculture in Juabeso with Mr Louis Kwofie of Tikobo Number One emerging as the overall best district farmer. He received a 21-inch television, DVD player, ghetto blaster, Wellington boots, four cutlasses and a certificate.

Mr Amoah said Wienco Ghana Limited was to launch and operate a Coconut Out grower Scheme but the first phase of the Coconut Sector Development Project ended last year.

He said as a result of the Coconut Sector Development Project undertaken jointly by the governments of France and Ghana, coconut yield has increased from an average of 72 nuts to 120 nuts per tree per year and has given employment to about 2,000 coconut farmers and processors.

Mr Amoah said the region continued to register deficits in maize, rice and yam production despite the vast existing potential. He said increased production of food crops, poultry, livestock and fish should be one of the major objectives of the agricultural sector in the region.

Mr Amoah said the Inland Rice Development Project has so far supplied 252 farmers with inputs and cash totalling 503,300,000 cedis and together they have developed 163 hectares of land out of 1,400 hectares. This intervention has resulted in increased quality rice yield from an average of 1.5 tons per hectare to about 4.5 tons per hectare and has given employment to about 500 rice farmers and processors. Mr Amoah said under the Pro-poor intervention project 40 pig farmers in Ahanta West District received inputs and cash totalling 10,050,000 cedis to improve upon their housing and breeding situation.

Similarly, 120 farmers in Nzema East District have been assisted with input and cash totalling 50,200,000 cedis for the cultivation of cassava, vegetables and cowpea.

Mr Amoah said 120 farmers from Aowin Suaman, Shama-Ahanta East Metropolis, Wassa West and Wassa Amenfi Districts have benefited from inputs and cash totalling 200,450,000 cedis to process good quality palm oil, palm kernel oil, gari, rice and maize.

He said another intervention earmarked to provide employment is the Farmer Based Budgetary Support Programme where government has provided 3,724,000,000 cedis for about 3,000 farmers and processors to improve upon the production and processing of maize, rice, cassava, oil palm, poultry and pigs. 02 Dec 06