BOOST FOR FARMERS IN NORTHERN GHANA...They now have capacity to increase food production (PAGE 3)

FARMERS in northern Ghana now have the capacity to increase food production through modern agricultural practices.
This has been made possible through the inauguration of the second phase of the Farmer Agricultural Production and Marketing Project (FAMAR) in Tamale.
The project, which costs 1.4 million Euros, is expected to increase the number of beneficiary farmers from the current 6,000 to 10,000 in the next four years, as well as help introduce the farmers to appropriate technology to increase food production in the north.
The formation of farmer-based organisations (FBOs) from the community level through the district to the regional levels will also be enhanced under the project.
It is being jointly funded by the Association of Church Development Projects (ACDEP), Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO), an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), the European Union (EU) and the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC).
The Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Mr. Ernest Debrah, in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Mr Clement Eledi stated that the project was initiated as a private-public partnership project to link small holder farmers to large buyers.
According to the sector minister, the first phase of the project had been successful, which had encouraged the development partners to inject more capital into it.
Mr. Debrah indicated that the production of sorghum, soybeans and groundnuts had increased significantly between 2005 and 2008.
He noted that another success chalked up during the implementation of the first phase of the FAMAR project was the establishment of the Savannah Farmers’ Marketing Company Limited that had gained strong linkage between farmers and agro-processing companies.
The Executive Director of ACDEP, Mr. Malex Alebikiya, said the project would continue to focus on enhancing farmers’ productive capacity through improved farmer skills, access to credit and savings opportunities.
“The project will also help to improve crop yields, namely, sorghum, soya beans and groundnuts through appropriate technology and extension services,” he stated.
The Northern Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr Sylvester Adongo, observed that in recent times the long dry season and erratic rainfall patterns had threatened farming activities of smallholder farmers in the area.
“It will not be far-fetched to say that the smallholder farmer in the north is gradually becoming an ‘endangered species’ and will need special interventions to stay above water,” he pointed out.
Mr Adongo, therefore, expressed gratitude to the development partners and the government for extending the FAMAR project that had given farmers hope that they could benefit immensely from large secure markets devoid of exploitation.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, entreated the private sector to help establish more storage facilities for farmers to prevent post-harvest losses.