The Kassena-Nankan District Director of Agriculture, Mr Joseph Amiyuure, has called for a national policy to fight anthrax, army worm and other animal and pest borne diseases prevalent in the Upper East.

He said the phenomenon affected food security almost every year, adding that due to the absence of a policy, the region continue to suffer a lot.

Mr Amiyuure, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, said as part of efforts to prevent the diseases, his office had held a workshop for commercial farmers, Community Based Organisations (CBOs) NGOs and members of the the District Assembly.

He called for the formation of surveillance teams in the various communities in the region as part of efforts to detect the outbreak of diseases in their early stages.

"The assemblies can also buy airtime on the local radio stations to intensify education on the diseases."

''Anthrax is a killer and does not only affect the healthiest animals that can bring in income to the people but also has the potential to wipe out a whole household'', he said.

The Director said his office is constraint in terms of logistics to do mass vaccination and spraying.

"We do not have enough sprayers and agro-chemicals to combat the disease", he said.