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AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Extension officers and selected farmers attend plant clinic in Atebubu

Agricultural Extension officers and selected farmers from the Atebubu-Amantin municipality have benefited from a plant clinic as part of their monthly technical review meeting to enable them identify and manage plant pests and diseases appropriately.

Date Created : 7/6/2023 : Story Author : Daniel Oduro-Stewart/Ghanadistricts.com

According to the municipal director of the Department of Agriculture Mr. Stephen Aidoo, his outfit decided to take advantage of the meeting to improve the knowledge and skills of staff and some selected farmers by taking advantage of available expertise and also share information on best practices for the benefit of agriculture in the municipality.

He urged the selected farmers to share any knowledge gained with other colleague farmers to help boost their activities.

Mr. Mohammed Sulemana a Centre for Agricultural Biosciences International trained plant doctor took beneficiaries through the identification and management of a number of pests and diseases affecting various crops of economic importance to farmers in the municipality.

He said timing is essential if one is to avoid pests like fall armyworms in maize and urged them to consider the time and specific maize varieties they plant since they may have different maturity periods and may be affected by rainfall patterns.

He said the appropriate use of chemicals is very essential to agriculture and urged farmers to seek the necessary advice from extension officers or knowledgeable agro input dealers.

Alhaji Baba Seidu the 2021 national best quality maize farmer spoke about alternative innovative approaches to farming with specific reference to maize and beans.

He said apart from a strict adherence to extension advice, a study of local rainfall patterns enables him to plan his maize planting activities in order to take advantage of the rains even if erratic and also avoid pests.

He noted that his continued use of improved varieties of maize seeds has proven to be very beneficial economically and urged other maize farmers to do the same.

The municipal chief farmer Alhaji Yusif Bunbas urged farmers to consider the variety of maize they plant since that will determine the best time to apply fertilizers.

Some of the farmers were delighted at the new things they learnt and expressed their desire to share their experiences with other farmers to boost agriculture in the municipality.