Zebilla (UER) Dec. 08, GNA - Mr. Roy Ayariga, Upper East Regional Director of Agriculture on Friday said the Region is recovering fast in the area of food production, from the disaster of the past floods. He said the early dry season cropping had recorded high yields of water melons, onions, pepper and tomatoes.

Mr. Ayariga who spoke at the Regional Farmers Day celebration in Zebilla, said the floods left a lot of water and fertile soil which the farmers made good use of, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) supplied them with seed and fertilizer. He said MOFA planned to promote the cultivation of tree crops that would provide food, income and serve as a means for improving the environment.

Mr. Ayariga appealed to Chiefs and land owners in the region to ease the process of acquiring land to enable women grow fruit and fuel wood trees, saying, "Women take better care of trees from seedlings to maturity and our traditions should permit them to acquire lands for tree crops". He urged District Assemblies to assist the youth with land preparation, using the tractors MOFA had allocated to them.

Mrs. Agnes Chigabatia, Deputy Regional Minister said most of the farmers , especially those who did not do irrigation farming this dry season, still needed assistance in the form of seed and credit to be able to undertake farming next year.

She called for the reconstruction of irrigation dams, roads and bridges that would facilitate production and marketing as rain fed agriculture was unreliable, saying, that was the only way to have sustainable Agriculture and development in the region. Mr. John Akunde Anani, a 54 year old farmer from Tiili in the Bawku West District was adjudged the best farmer in the region and for his prize, given one corn mill, one sewing machine, one radio, one piece of cloth, one bicycle a pair of Wellington boots, a spraying machine two sachets of fungicides and four machetes.

Mr. Anani has a 280 hectare farm land and cultivates millet, maize, sorghum, groundnuts Soya bean and rice. He also does animal husbandry and has 120 cattle, 160 sheep five donkeys, guinea fowls and rabbits. He grows trees and has 16 mango trees, 23 cashew, 300 shea trees 25 Dawadawa and 15 moringa trees.

Mr. Dominic Mbilla, from Bawku was the best onion farmer, while Mr. Adumpo Akanansa from Bulisa District came best for rice and Awuni Atiiga, from Garu Tempane best for groundnuts, they all received similar prizes like the best farmer's except the corn mill. Thirteen other farmers were awarded prizes for being best farmers of various crops, animal husbandry and fishing.