Day: December 2, 2023

Adaklu Kpodzi Basic School was among the nine award winners at the 39th Adaklu district farmers’ day celebration at Adaklu Torda.

The school won the best school garden category and for their prize, they were given two knapsack spraying machines, machetes, weedicides, and wellington boots.

The overall district best farmer award was won by Mr. Moses Ekpe of Adaklu Anfoe.

His prize was a tricycle, two knapsacks spraying machines, cutlasses, wellington boots, and weedicides.

Madam Juliana Kpedekpo, Adaklu District Chief Executive, addressing the gathering stated that agriculture have become the driving force of the economy.

She said for this reason the government was putting measures in place to make agricultural implements and seeds available to farmers to increase their yields.

The DCE urged the youth to take up agribusiness not as a vocation but as a serious business.

Mad. Kpedekpo said a delegation from Korea was in the district to set up a food processing factory and urged farmers in the district to
seize the opportunity to expand their farms, especially vegetables.

Mad. Eugenia Nana-Bruce, Adaklu District Director of Agriculture stated that farmers were not just food producers, but stewards of the land and that their wisdom combined with modern innovations could lead to more sustainable food security.

She urged the government to invest in smart agricultural practices, provide access to the latest technologies and empower farmers with modern methods of farming.

Togbe Agumedra Afehe VII, Chief of Adaklu Torda who chaired the function said roads in the district were in a very deplorable state and appealed to government to come to their aid by upgrading the roads to enable farmers cart their foodstuffs to the marketing centres.

The celebration was on the theme ‘delivering smart solutions for sustainable food security and resilience.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

A total of 6,072 persons have been reported to be living with HIV in the Northern Region as of June 2023.

Out of the total of 25,423 persons tested from January to September, 787 tested positive, while 428 tested positive in June alone out of 48,287 tests.

The 428 positive cases included 30 children and 68 pregnant women.

The statistics were given by Dr Abdulai Abukari, the Northern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service (GHS), after a health walk in Tamale.

The walk was organised by the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET) in collaboration with the Persons Living with HIV and AIDS Network.

It was part of the ongoing campaign of World AIDS Day which was marked on the theme: ‘Let Communities Lead.’

Dr Abukari said the Northern regional HIV prevalence was 0.7 per cent against the national prevalence of 2.0 per cent, though the lowest in the country.

He stated that all who tested positive were linked to care in the 24 Anti-Retroviral Therapy facilities across the region.

‘AIDS-related deaths have redu
ced globally by almost 70 per cent since the peak in 2004 and new infections have been at their lowest points since the 1980s, however, it is important to note that AIDS still takes a life every minute,’ he said.

He said despite the country’s progress towards achieving the first 95 of the 95-95-95 United Nations AIDS targets, the majority of testing strategies happened at the health facility level and had proven to be inefficient in capturing populations such as high-risk men, key populations, adolescents and young people who were often reluctant to walk in for testing services.

Dr Abukari said to address this challenge, the GHS-National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NACP), piloted HIV Self-Testing (HIVST) in 2022 advocating HIV self-testing until the national launch.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Forum for Natural Regeneration (FONAR), an environmentally friendly non-governmental organization, has launched school kids and community bushfire awareness and preparedness campaign at Tongo-Balungu primary school in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.

The 2023/2024 campaign of the organization is to help raise awareness, increase the knowledge of school kids and community members on the impact of bushfire and build effective adult-youth partnership for bushfire prevention and control in their communities.

It formed part of FONAR`s school Kids Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) eco clubs project in partnership with the Ghana National Fire Service which began last year in 15 primary schools across the district with sponsorship from Awaken Trees Foundation, Austria.

The launching of the campaign was held on the theme: ‘Be bushfire ready: Bushfire prevention is everyone’s responsibility.’

Speaking at the launch of the project, Mr Sumaila Saaka, the Executive Director of FONAR, noted
that children and women, who are among the most vulnerable in society, were both victims and often perpetrators of bushfires, while in the lead when it comes to fighting bushfires.

This, he observed, necessitated the launching of the campaign to raise awareness of the risk of bushfires, improve community preparedness, create an understanding of the behaviour of fire and change the risky behaviour in the community.

‘We also want to create awareness that it is the community members` collective and individual responsibility to protect their property and families from the effects of uncontrolled bushfires,’ he added.

Mr Saaka, emphasised that the risk that bushfires posed to people and the environment, especially in the dry savannah regions of northern Ghana, was increasing in recent years due to many factors including climate change.

‘Therefore, for us in FONAR, bushfire prevention and control education are important for children as well as adults.’

He called on the government to adequately resource the Gha
na National Fire Service as the lead agency in the management of bushfires in the country.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer One (ACFO 1) Anthony Gyasi Boateng, Upper East Regional Fire Commander, in a speech read on his behalf said the Service was committed to partnering with FONAR to regenerate and protect the natural environment.

He indicated that the ‘Service in collaboration with FONAR over the years has achieved a milestone together including the training of school children, teachers and community members on the impact of bushfires and ways to control them and pledged to do more to protect the environment.’

Naba Joseph Atiah, the Chief of Tongo-Balungu, while expressing his gratitude to FONAR for the initiative, reechoed the adverse impact of bushfires and called on his people to guard the environment against bushfires to protect their lives and livelihoods.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chief of Dzodze-Kuli in the Ketu North Municipality, Togbe Avorkliya V, has indicated the readiness of traditional authorities and the Municipal Assembly, to welcome potential investors into the area to enhance socio-economic development.

He said the doors of the traditional leaders and the Assembly were opened for investors and to encourage development and reduce unemployment, and that the traditional leaders were prepared to give land to investors who would come to the area to conduct business.

Togbe Avorkliya V said this when the Ketu North Municipal Assembly took it turn at the Sixth Volta Trade and Investment Fair, to showcase investment and business opportunities within the Municipality.

He said there was an abundance of clay deposits in the Dzodze-Kuli area, which could be exploited to produce ceramic goods, urging the business community to consider investing in and doing business in the municipality.

Mr Dominic Boachie, the Information Officer of the Assembly, said agriculture was the mainsta
y of the Ketu North economy, in which about 61.7 per cent of households in the area were engaged in farming or agric-related activities.

He mentioned some major crops that were cultivated in commercial quantities in the area as rice, maize, cassava, sweet potato and cowpea, and the cassava and maize.

The information officer said, rice was currently changing the local economy due to its increased production and value chain, and it was grown in both valley bottoms and irrigation systems.

Mr Boachie said despite the enormous potential of the region for aquaculture, it had not been fully realised because the majority of fish farming was done on a small scale.

He said the area was suitable for ponds and cited an existing one like the Ohawu Agricultural College, which had both commercial and educational uses.

He noted that despite the area’s abundance of untapped tourist potential, eco-tourism was leading the way.

The municipality offered opportunities for religious, eco and environmental tourism, as well as
tourism focused on ethnic and cultural heritage and agriculture, he said.

The Roman Catholic Church Glothoh at Dzodze-Deme, Sacred Forest at Afife, 14-headed palm tree at Kasu, Adru Forest at Adrume, Adzoatsi and Dekpor Dam, Dzago pond and stream at Ehi-Dzagoto, and Trokosi Shrine at Afife were a few of the tourist attractions in the area, he added.

Mr Boachie said the Municipality could also boast of several hotels which provided various services to visitors including those on tourist expeditions.

He said the Assembly’s objective was to improve the standard of living of the people through efficient use of both human and material resources, and therefore appealed to investors to consider the area for doing business.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Ernest Talikun Njonan Ujan, has been adjudged the 2023 Municipal Best Farmer in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.

Mr Ujan took home a tricycle, a pair of Wellington boots, two cutlasses and a certificate.

The Municipal Best Farmer, who hails from Pai-Katanga, a suburb of Dambai with 21-years of experience in farming, has several farms dotted around the area, providing employment opportunities to several families in the enclave.

Mr Ujan who is married and blessed with five children, owns acres of land on which 10 were for cultivating yam, seven for cassava, 11 for groundnuts, four and five respectively for rice and teak trees, aside the rearing of cattle, sheep and goats.

He acknowledged the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for instituting the Day to acknowledge the role of farmers in the country.

There were also awards for the Municipal Best crop farmer, Municipal Best livestock farmer, Municipal Best Female farmer, Municipal Best youth farmer, Municipal physically challenged farmer and
Municipal Best Agric-Extension Agent.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Dan Botwe, MP for Okere and Local government minister has commended Professionals who have ventured into farming creating jobs for the youth in the catchment areas.

‘This is commendable where people with varied professions either retired or in active work go into farming, creating job opportunities and giving a boost to the Planting for Food and Jobs programme’.

Mr Botwe gave the commendation at the farmers day celebration at Lakpa, a farming community in Okere District where a 69-year-old retired UN military officer emerged as the best farmer in the district.

He mentioned that there were several other professionals in the area cultivating large acres of land and creating opportunities for the youth and urged others who have the interest to invest in farming.

Citing his own maize farms he said, ‘at least it’s a job opening for the youth in the area and also learning and practical experience about farming to sustain the interest and getting more youth into farming.’

While commending all 15 award winne
rs in the district, he urged the youth to tap into the potential of the vast investment in the agriculture sector for improved livelihoods.

Major-rtd Jude Kwadwo Boateng, who emerged as the best farmer has a total of 60 acres of land cultivating assorted crops including maize, plantain, oil palm, coconut, cashew, cassava, and cocoa, has four fishponds and livestock.

Mr Daniel Nana-Addo Kenneth, Okere District Chief executive said government through the PFJ and PERD programmes provided seedlings and many others to empower farmers in the district.

Source: Ghana News Agency