GOVT DEVELOPS POLICIES TO ENSURE GROWTH (P.20....Published Mon Dec 17, 2007

Story: Kwame Asiedu Marfo, Azani

THE government, through the ministries of Food and Agriculture and Fisheries, has developed policies which have ensured accelerated growth and sustainability in the agricultural sector.
As a policy towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, the government is promoting the cultivation of maize, cassava, rice and yam throughout the country to ensure food security nationwide.
The main objective of promoting these foods is to enable the country to attain food self-sufficiency so as to stabilise their prices on the market.
Besides the promotion of these food crops, some cash crops such as coconut and rubber plantations as well as cocoa farms in the Western Region are being rehabilitated to increase their yield.
Western Region, the highest producer of cocoa in the country, continues to receive attention in its cocoa production.
This year, the region received 608,740 bags of Asase Wura cocoa fertiliser distributed to over 80,000 cocoa farmers to cultivate a total of 158,730 hectares of cocoa farms in the region.
Besides cocoa production, the region also has a remarkable production of coconut, particularly in the Nzema areas.
The coconut sector has for many years been one of the main agricultural activities which serve as a source of livelihood and employment for the people along the coastal areas, especially for women who are involved in coconut processing and marketing.
Unfortunately, the sector has been devastated by the Lethal Yellowish Disease, locally known as Cape Saint Paul Wilt Disease (CSPWD).
Nationwide, about 4,000 hectares of coconut farms in the coastal belt have been devastated.
However, a five-year Coconut Sector Development Project (CSDP) was started between 1999 and 2005 to rehabilitate the devastated areas and to revitalise the coconut sector so as to increase the incomes of those who have been severely affected by the disease.
During the duration of the project, a total of 800 hectares of coconut farms were rehabilitated, which also led to the improvement of yields.
Through the application of fertilisers and the cultivation of high yielding seeds, the yields have doubled from an average of 60 nuts to 120 nuts per tree per year.
The project has led to the employment of over 2,000 farmers and processors  in the coconut sector in the region.
Although the project has ended, the government continues to support the industry to help all those who are interested in rehabilitating their farms.
The rubber industry has also received the needed attention in order to boost yield in the region.
The phase three of the Rubber Outgrower Plantation Project (ROPP) which became operational in January 2006 will continue till 2010.
The main objective of the project is to assist 1,750 new outgrowers to plant 7,000 hectares of rubber trees over a five-year period in the Western and Central regions.
Other supporting activities are research on outgrowers’ fields, strengthening of outgrower association and rehabilitation of roads.
The project is being implemented in the Jomoro, Nzema East, Ahanta West, Mpohor Wassa East, Wassa Amenfi West, Wassa Amenfi East and Wassa West districts as well as seven districts in the Central Region.
So far, 862 outgrowers have been assisted under the project to plant 1,067 hectares in the Western Region.
These facts were made known at the Western Regional celebration of 23rd National Farmers Day at Azani in the Ahanta West District.
Speaking at the function, the Western Regional Minister, Mr A.E. Amoah, announced that the necessary drawings had been completed for the construction of fish landing sites at Dixcove and Axim, both in the Nzema East District.
In addition, he said 2,000 hectares of land had been acquired at Shama for the construction of an aqua culture centre by a Chinese company.
He said more than 200 fish farmers had been trained in fish farming techniques, whilst about 300 of them had been educated on the relevant sections of the law on fisheries to ensure responsible fishing practices.
All these, he said, were aimed at improving the performance of the fishing industry.
In order to address the problem of financing, Mr Amoah said the government intended to introduce tax incentives to financial institutions to increase the flow of credit to the sector and also reduce interest rates on agricultural loans and to extend maturity terms of loans between five and ten years.
“Another area being considered is the development of Agricultural Development Fund/Farm Credit Corporation, with 100 per cent agriculture focus to provide a range of financial loans and insurance,” he said.
The Western Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr David Okine, explained that the mission of the ministry was the development of the technology and effective transfer of technology to farmers and fishermen and other services to bring about increase in productivity and production.
He said 13 district planning sessions as well as regional ones were carried out at the beginning of this year to review the catalogue of farmers’ problems and develop strategies for extension and research work.
Mr Okine said the ministry had been working in collaboration with a research team from the University of Cape Coast, on the multiplication of high yielding and desirable cassava varieties in the Nzema East and Ahanta West districts.