Production and Gainful Employment

The main production activity is agriculture. The sector engages about 80% of the district’s labour force. Production is basically food crops at the subsistence level. Increase agricultural productivity, diversification of the local economy, environmentally friendly agricultural practices, improving accessibility by constructing feeder roads to facilitate farming activities as well as human movement.

Increased Agricultural Productivity

Out of the nine major food crops, seven chalked surpluses in the food balance sheet for the period. These are maize, rice, cassava, yam, groundnut, cowpea & soya beans For the other two namely sorghum and millet, significant strides were made towards surplus.

Despite the surpluses in the food balance sheet, there were reductions in acreage in land put under cultivation. This was a manifestation of positive actions on sound environmental and sustainable agricultural practices. Thus extension services were vigorously pursued.

Crop Performance

Generally, it has been realized during the review period that yields of most early cereals and legumes were not encouraging but yields of roots and tubers even though was delayed, were quite substantial to compensate for the cereals particularly maize.

The weather pattern during the period under review favoured the growth and development of most tree crops (cashew, mango, Dawadawa and sheanut).The incidence of lost of property (cashew plantations) through bushfire activities has been minimal in spite of the numerous bushfire activities. Farmers were educated on early weed control and fire belt creation.

About 80% of the people are directly or indirectly engaged in agriculture with crop farmers effectively occupied on their farms during the raining seasons (usually six months in a year. Teaching, Civil Service, Petty Trading and others constitute the remaining 20%. There is therefore much seasonal underemployment or unemployment during the dry season.

Some problems relating to employment are as follows

Non-availability of training opportunities or facilities for some of the people to diversify from agriculture to other sectors of the economy. The high illiteracy rate makes a lot of people unfit for other sectors (creates much difficulty in labour mobility) High school dropout rate also contributes to the unemployment. Lack of employment avenues for school leavers. Poor non-farm income generating activities.

Challenges of Tree crops cultivation

Women are of the view that the activity is further impoverishing their economic status and thus worsening their practical needs. Sheanut trees from which women gather nuts for butter processing are being felled to transplant mango seedlings. Farmers are not also satisfied with marketing arrangement. The DA is to liaise with the companies on the situation.