Tuobodom (BAR), Feb. 6, GNA - The management of Nkoranza-Kwabre Rural Bank at Akuma in Nkoranza South District of Brong-Ahafo has organised a two-day training workshop for about 25 vegetable farmers from Tuobodom in Techiman Municipality on modern agricultural practices to increase production.

They were taken through land preparation and suitable land for tomato and maize cultivation, methods of planting, fertilizer application as well as suitable insecticides for various crops, methods of spraying and period of harvesting and storage. Mr Richard Okoe, Senior Project Officer, said the bank was a corporate body and stakeholder in national development, therefore concerned with initiating good programmes and projects that would enable customers improve upon their economic activities. He said management had arranged with some agro-chemical dealers to provide the necessary agricultural inputs for the farmers to cultivate tomatoes and maize adding that it intended to offer credit facilities to them.

Mr Okoe stressed the need for the farmers to adhere to the advice of agricultural extensions officers with regard to modern methods of cultivation and proper application of insecticides to enable them increase production. Mr Kenneth Nii Addy, an Agricultural Consultant and a resource person urged the farmers to be concerned with their health during application of insecticides. He recommended that farmers applied fertilizers that contained nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus to increase production. Mr Addy said fertilizers such as sulphate of ammonia and urea which were top soil dressers could be applied in the fifth week and the best way of their application was by burying the nutrients and closer to the plants for their effectiveness. He cautioned maize farmers who cultivated during the minor season between July and September to spray their farm lands with insecticides to protect their farms against army worm infestation since the pest invaded maize farms during such periods. Mr Maxwell Amoateng, Tuobodom Branch Officer of the bank called on the farmers to implement the knowledge acquired to increase production. He said management would monitor activities of the farmers and ensure that they used credit granted them judiciously for other farmers to benefit.