Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said there is some relief package for rice farmers in the country.
He said it was time for the farmers to take advantage of the incentives and make at least initial half payment of the total cost of agricultural machinery including tractors and power tillers that they will need to boost production.
Each of the machines cost between GH¢24,000 and GH¢31,000.
The minister addressing rice farmers in Kajebi in the Oti Region on Tuesday told them to write through the Kajebi District Director of Agriculture for the machines to be given to them on credit.
On fertiliser shortage, Dr. Afriyie Akoto attributed the problem to the Covid-19 pandemic but said normalcy was being restored through the hardwork of the government.
According to him, most of the fertliser producing factories have shut down due to Covid adding that “available fertilisers will not be given out on credit but will be on cash and carry system.”
From the rice farmers, the visited the Volta Red Oil Palm Processing Mill also in Kadjebi where he inspected the process of producing palm oil.
The Director of Volta Red Oil Palm Processing Mill, Nicholas Kwame Foto, highlighted on some of the challenges facing the mill.
He said intermittent power outages was impeding production and appealed to the government to help remedy the situation.
The minster in the company of the Regional Minister Joshua Makabu, also paid a courtesy call on Chief of Dambai, Nana Kwaku Biano II and his elders where the chiefs laid some issues affecting agriculture in the region before the ministers.
They said they needed assistance in harvesting of yams in large quantities in the region and the required storage facilities.
“We are also pleading with the district director of agriculture to organise a forum to help educate the youth in the region to let them know new techniques that could be adopted to help improve the agricultural yields in the region,” they appealed.