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AGRICULTURE

Wa farmers default payments of inputs under planting for food and Jobs

The Wa Municipal Chief Executive, Alahji Issahaku Moomin said the assembly is yet to recover over GHC400,000.00 worth of inputs given to farmers under the Planting for Food and Jobs programme during last year’s farming season.

Date Created : 8/16/2018 3:17:08 AM : Story Author : Prosper Kuorsoh/Ghanadistricts.com

The cost of inputs given to farmers in the Municipality on credit in 2017 under government’s agricultural intervention scheme totaled GHC1, 106,865.00, according to the Assembly.

But it was only able to recover GHC692,724.00 representing 62.58 percent, leaving GHC414,141.00 outstanding, Alhaji Issahaku said a committee has been constituted to help recover the left over.

The MCE who was speaking during a Town Hall Meeting described reluctance of some farmers to pay back the cost of inputs they picked as highly unfortunate, noting that the behaviour of the defaulted farmers had prevented more people from benefiting from the pro-poor agricultural intervention in the municipality this year.

The farmers attributed their inability to pay back the monies to the devastating Fall Army Worm (FAW) which resulted in severe reduction of farm yields.

“Of course, there are some who also feel that it is a government programme and so they are not willing to pay”, Alhaji Moomin said.

He said the Assembly would pursue the defaulters to recover the money being considered as revolving fund to help supply more inputs to other farmers.

The MCE also said 10 communities in the Municipality had been selected to benefit the “One-Village One-Dam” policy initiative in 2018, adding: Out of that six of the contractors have reported and work would soon commence.

He said water and other sanitary facilities in the Wa new market had been fixed and would be opened soon.

The Municipal Assembly also partnered some private people to help develop portions of the market that was left unattended to.

The MCE said through such partnership, about 71 shops were completed to complement government’s efforts.

Mr Kofi Ohene Benning, the Director of Human Resource at the Ministry of Information, explained the importance of Town Hall Meeting as one that provided the opportunity to receive feedback from citizens in order to guide actions of government.

The objective, he said, was to develop effective accountable and transparent institutions that would be responsive and inclusive and would equally ensure public access to information and encourage and promote effective public, private and civil society partnership.