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Business news for Monday, September 14, 2020
Source: GNA
2020-09-14
Rice farmers bagged their rice in the Fumbisi rice valley last year
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Rice farmers in Fumbisi, in the southern Builsa district of the Upper Oriente region, say they expect a bumper harvest if it continues to rain for the next two months.
Farmers said that despite the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic that massively affected the cost of production, they had benefited from seeds and fertilizers under the Savannah Area Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP).
The five-year project, which began in 2018 under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) was part of the government’s efforts to increase productivity in the agricultural sector, is being implemented in seven districts in the agribusiness zone, including ; the districts of Builsa South, Nanton, West Gonja, Savelugu, Tolon, Kumbungu and West Mamprusi.
At a program in Fumbisi to inaugurate the Builsa Sur Commercial Farmers Association, farmers said that the SAPIP initiative had boosted their production and emphasized that “if God gives us good rains this year, we will have an excellent harvest.”
Mr. Daniel Atulik Abayaskadina, Secretary of the Builsa Sur Commercial Farmers Association, said that the SAPIP initiative was beneficial for them, as they had easy access to fertilizers, unlike last year when they struggled to get it.
He said the rice in the valley looked green and was hopeful that in good weather conditions they would get a bountiful harvest.
However, Mr. Richard Akuka, a rice farmer and member of the Builsa South Commercial Farmers Association, expressed concern that if after the bumper harvest there were no buyers for the rice as experienced last year, the would affect.
“We call on all the millers to come and buy the rice. Our rice is one of the best in the country, people used to complain that our rice was full of stones, but that is a thing of the past, the quality of the rice is the best now ”.
He explained that the rice was harvested directly into containers and dried on crushing floors without any contact with sand or stones, and appealed to the government and institutions such as Avnash Industries Ghana Limited to sponsor its production this year.
Mr. Sylvan Dauda Danaa, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Builsa Sur, revealed that last year around 1,500 hectares of land were cultivated for rice production.
“This year production has increased by 40 percent, we are already registering around 2,500 hectares. The District has a high potential for rice production and we currently have nine valleys ”.
He said that of the number of valleys, the government had developed 866.4 hectares, while the rest were developed by individual farmers. “This year, the government has allocated around 500 hectares to develop in the valleys and this will even increase our rice production next year.”
Mr. Danaa said that with the collaboration between the government and SAPIP, commercial farmers in the District received support with approximately 3,070 hectares of inputs for both fertilizers and seeds.
“This is the reason why we have gone from 1,500 to 2,500 hectares this year. Most farmers have doubled their production, expanded their land and increased production this year, ”he said.
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