The Director of Agric and Food Security Programmes of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Mr Samuel Asante-Mensah has suggested the provision of dugouts and boreholes on farm Lands to aid all year round farming especially in the savanna ecological zone.
According to him, it will engage farmers all year-round which would also reduce the rural-urban drift in search for non-existent jobs.
Due to the uncertainty in weather as a result of the climate change, the provision of water on, or near farm lands he said could help farmers to farm without necessarily waiting for the rains. Mr Asante-Mensah believes Ghana could be making a head way to overcome its food security quest if water was made available coupled with modern and improved methods of farming. He called on government and non-governmental organizations to consider this idea.
The northern region has only one farming season – June to September and rest of the period in the year is less engages the farmers. Greater percentage of the northern population is engaged in farming and predominantly peasant farmers.
This, Mr Asante-Mensah attributed to why the northern workforce would usually move to the south in search for non-existent jobs popularly known as ‘Kayaye’. According to him, if this is done, women could grow various varieties of vegetables to generate income to support their families rather than considering Kayaye as alternative livelihood.
Story by Alima Bawah, Tamale.
