Mr Cephas Eremong, the Nadowli/Kaleo District Director of Agriculture, has said about 16.5 hectares of farms in the District had been destroyed by fall armyworm infestation.
Mr Eremong, who stated this during the Nadowli/Kaleo District Town Hall Meeting, said 2,394.51 hectares had been affected out of which about 2,079 hectares were sprayed.
A total of 1,149 farmers in the district were affected, he said.
The Town Hall Meeting, which is a collaborative activity between the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, was aimed at deepening participatory democracy and ensuring government’s accountability to the people at the district level.
Touching on the Government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme, Mr Eremong said 2,426 farmers in the district, comprising 2,306 males and 120 females, had registered to participate in the programme.
He said the Government provided 15,945 bags of NPK, 6,330 bags of Sulphate of Ammonia, 1,873 bags of UREA and 38 bags of Yara Legume fertilizer to support farmers.
Mr Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, urged farmers who benefitted from the government’s subsidised fertilizer to endeavour to repay back to help sustain it.
He said the programme aimed at supporting farmers to increase food production and that their inability to repay on time would be a disadvantage to farmers in the subsequent years.
He said the Government would also implement the “Planting for Jobs and Investment” programme to help farmers to plant economic trees such as cashew and mangoes, which would benefit both the present and future generations.
Madam Catherine Tieyirr Lankono, the Nadowli/Kaleo District Chief Executive, urged the people to support the Government in its quest to clamp down on illegal mining, especially in the District, to help conserve the land and other natural resources for posterity.
She gave the assurance that the District would maintain a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.
The participants appealed to the DCE to facilitate the connection of electricity to cover the entire district to help reduce crime.
