Bono East: Nkoranza South District Assembly distributes 150,000 mango and cashew seedlings to farmers

The Nkoranza South District Assembly and Department of Agriculture has commenced the distribution of 150,000 grafted cashew and mango seedlings to farmers in the area.

The distribution of the improved variety with a shorter maturity period falls in line with government's Planting for Exports and Rural Development (PERD) initiative, which is aimed at decentralizing the National Tree Crops Programme to promote rural economic growth and enhance the foreign exchange earning capacity of the Ghanaian economy.

Cashew is one of the six tree crops that will receive government's attention under the PERD initiative is largely being supervised by the local authorities and the District Assemblies.

Speaking at a brief forum to present the seedlings to the District Department of Agriculture for inwards distribution to the over 2,000 registered farmers, the District Chief Executive of the area, Honourable Diana Attaa-Kusiwa,said the Assembly adopted the cashew and Mango crops because of it's potential in helping boost the local economy.

She said the government of the President Akufo-Addo is committed to improving the Agriculture sector hence the birth of Planting for Export and Rural Development program which is also a subsidiary of the Planting for food and jobs policy.

She stated that farmers would receive the seedlings free of charge and also enjoy free technical assistance from the Agric department to ensure greater crop yield.

The DCE, who is hopeful that the cashew and the Mango crops will help transform the lives of the farmers for the better, urged them to take the project seriously for their own prosperity, that of the district and the Nation as a whole.

She assured the farmers of the continues support of the Assembly and urged them to channel their efforts into ensuring that the initiative records a minimal death rate of the seedlings.

She said " I am here today to hand over these seedlings to the Agric department to in turn distribute to the farmers. We have about 150,000 of the seedlings here for distribution to over 2,000 farmers in the district. The President's commitment to the Agric sector is unflinching and that is why he continues to demonstrate that by giving to farmers especially in the rural areas the needed support ".

This is an initiative that will put money into the pockets of Farmers and improve their lives. I therefore want to plead with the farmers to please do whatever you can to make sure that these cashew and mango seedlings survive. Put in efforts to ensure that we record low deaths of the seedlings and in the next few years, we will be smiling to a great yield that will improve our lives". She assured.

In his remarks, Mr. Attigah Hammond Selassie,the Nkoranza South District Director of Agriculture, thanked the Assembly for presentation, adding that his outfit will see to the supervision and monitoring of the seedlings so as to avert failure.

He noted that the department, through the Agric Extension Agents, will distribute the seedlings to farmers within their operational areas base on the number of seedlings each farmer initially requested.

He expressed optimism in the fortunes of the improved Cashew and Mango crop and urged the farmers to embrace it.

"Cashew is a crop that is now in demand in the whole country with good market for it. The demand is high right now but there are no cashew nuts in the market. So we hope to harvest from these seedlings in about 3 years time. We will be smiling by then". He said.

Some of the farmers commended the Assembly and the government for providing them with the seedlings and technical assistance. They appealed to government, through the Assembly to sustain the PERD initiative.