RESEARCH EXTENSION LINKAGE COMMITTEE HOLDS MEETING AT BECHEM

The research extension linkage committee of the Tano South Municipality has organized stakeholders’ meeting to explain the major problems hindering agricultural activities in the Municipality and also used the meeting to solicit views on the priority needs of farmers to make the Tano South agric department prepares its 2020 annual work plan.

The meeting which held at Bechem Pentecost church  saw dignitaries like Hon John Dadzie, the Presiding Member for Tano South Municipal Assembly, Hon Collins Offinam Takyi, the MCE for Tano South, Mr. Kingsley Nyame, the Ahafo Regional Director for Agric, Mr. Richard Assan Asare Donkor, the Bono Regional Director for Agric and Mr. Kyei-Baffour Owusu- Ahaw,  the Tano South Municipal Director for Agric. 

The first picture above indicates  dignitaries whilst the second one depicts participants at the programme

In a short but impressive opening address, Hon John Dadzie, the Presiding Member for Tano South Municipal Assembly thanked all participants for making time out of their busy schedule to attend the programme and stressed that since the meeting was significant to the development of the Municipality, he urged all and sundry to contribute their quota to make the programme a success. Hon Dadzie said agriculture had contributed significantly to Ghana’s economy and for the matter government had introduced planting for food and jobs to make Ghana to be able to produce more foodstuffs for sale to make the country acquires more monies to undertake other developmental projects.

In another development, Mr. Kyei-Baffour Owusu-Ahaw, the Municipal Agric Director said the purpose of the meeting was to assist the Tano South Department of Agric and the stakeholders to review 2018 work plan on problems confronting farmers in the Municipality. 

Tano South Municipal Agric Director addressing the participants

Mr. Kyei stressed that the meeting would also offer opportunity for department of Agric to collate views on the priority needs of farmers to enable the department prepares its 2020 annual work plan to be used in the Municipality. He said, no department could work effectively without policy document and urged all participants to support the chairman to make him achieve an intent to which the meeting was organized.

Mr. Richard Assan Asare Donkor, the Bono Regional Director for Agric said this important meeting had taken place in Ahafo, Bono and Bono East Regions to make farmers and other civil society organizations contributed to the government’s decision making processes to ensure department of Agric gets credible policy document to address some of the challenges confronting the agricultural sector in the aforementioned regions and urged extension officers to do all they could to educate farmers on the modern methods of agricultural practices to make them obtain higher yields whilst Mr. Kingsley Nyame, the Ahafo Regional Director for Agric advised extension officers to submit their activity reports on timely manner for onwards submission to the other authorities to enhance policy formulation.

Hon. Collins Offinam Takyi, the MCE for Tano South said sixty-five percent (65 %) of Ghana’s population could be described as farmers and needed to be enrolled on pension schemes and informed the Tano South Municipal Director for Agric and his office to play a leading role to make government under the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to introduce pension scheme for farmers in the country especially the Tano South Municipality.  Hon. Takyi stressed that government would not leave any stone unturned when it comes to  the distribution of  resources and reiterated that Bechem town roads had been awarded for contract by government and urged all citizens to play their role to support government  implement its policies and programmes in all sectors of the economy.

                                 

MCE for Tano South Hon. Collins Offinam Takyi addressing participants

Hon. Takyi said ‘’lack of knowledge, my people perish’’  and emphasized  that most  farmers  had abused their farm products with chemicals and eventually had negative impact on them and other people and used the occasion to inform farmers to adopt traditional methods of farming.

The facilitators took participants through various presentations like the activities of research extension linkage committee, pest and diseases control, application of chemicals and fertilizers on farms and modern methods of agricultural practices.