Farmers in Upper East Region to receive support

The Upper East Regional Department of Food and Agriculture is gearing up to distribute seeds, fertilisers, and polished rice and maize to farmers enrolled in the Planting for Food and Jobs 2.0 initiative. 

This distribution is part of the government’s GHC8 million intervention aimed at supporting farmers affected by the region’s prolonged dry spell.

Farmers registered under the government’s flagship agriculture programme, who are also part of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) initiative, will receive a cash transfer of GHC1,000 each. 

Zakari Fuseini, Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Food and Agriculture, highlighted the importance of timely registration to Asaase News, stating that farmer data collection is crucial for the efficient delivery of support packages.

“If you’re delayed, your name will not be on the list for the Upper East,” Fuseini warned. 

“Once the items arrive and you hear that they have been distributed, if you register at that point, don’t expect to be included because the distribution will have already been finalised.” 

He outlined the support structure, which includes two bags of NPK fertiliser and one bag of urea for each registered smallholder farmer managing between two to ten acres (five hectares).

National Farmers Day rescheduled

Meanwhile, National Farmers Day has been rescheduled from December to 8 November 2024, in order to avoid conflict with the upcoming general election. 

Fuseini confirmed that preparations for the event in the Upper East Region are well underway.

“Because of Election Day, as you mentioned, these are two important national events. So, the Honourable Minister, together with the government, suggested and decided that Farmer’s Day be moved to November,” he explained. 

This year, the national event will take place in Greater Accra, with an exhibition showcasing agricultural produce from all 15 regions.

“At the national exhibition, all the other 15 regions are expected to participate in Accra, specifically in the ministerial enclave [that] has been designated for the agricultural exhibition,” he added. 

While the Upper East Region will celebrate separately from the national event, the specifics of whether to adopt a centralised or decentralised approach for local celebrations are still under discussion.

Last year, the region implemented a new centralised approach to the celebrations, which proved successful and cost-effective. 

However, discussions with the new minister will determine if this strategy will continue or if separate district events will be reinstated.

“We have yet to meet with the new minister to determine whether he will continue with this approach or allow the regional celebration and individual district events to take place,” Fuseini concluded.

Reporting by Mark Smith in the Upper East Region

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