Mr Thomas Azaibo, the overall best farmer of the Bawku West District has called on farmers to avoid burning their farm residue and use it together with animal dung to fertilize their farms.
This, he said was the best organic fertilizer that would not only nourish the soils and give good yields, but would over the years improve the soil fertility and improve its ability to retain moisture for a long time.
Mr Azaibo gave this message to his colleague farmers after he received the best farmer award in the District at the 2019 Farmers’ Day celebration at Zebilla.
It was on the theme, “Enhancing small scale Agriculture towards Agribusiness Development”
He urged farmers to diversify and include; animal husbandry so the two, crops and animals, would complement each other, where the animal droppings could be used to fertilize the soils and the animals sold out for money to expand the farms.
For his prize, Mr Azaibo took home a motor king tricycle, a bicycle, 1 bag of NPK fertilizer, a pair of wellington boots, two cutlasses, 2 bar of key soap and a certificate of honour.
Madam Victoria Ayamba, the Bawku West District Chief Executive, urged the farmers to take advantage of the Government’s flagship programmes to adopt new and improved technology, expand their farms and make farming a business venture to enhance their earnings.
She said farmers in the district benefited from 107,157 bags of NPK fertilizer, 5,979 bags of Urea and 1000 bags of compost fertilizer aside the 8000 bags of rice seeds, 2295 bags of OPV maize seeds and 2250 bags of soya seeds among others, this year.
Madam Ayamba added that under the rearing for food and jobs 400 sheep were distributed to 40 farmers, 500 cockerels distributed to 50 farmers while the Guinea Fowl breeding stock was yet to be delivered to the district.
The DCE indicated that from next year the mode of planting for food and jobs implementation would change and as such all farmers who would benefit from the policy would have to be registered with the department of agriculture.
Madam Ayamba commended the farmers for their contribution towards the improvement of lives in the district and the country at large.
Mr Elias Atinbire Anyagre, the District Director of Agriculture, said government through the district Assembly was collaborating with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the sustainable Land and water management project (SLWMP) and work with World Vision to ensure that farmers were able to adapt to climate change and also reduce Ghana’s contribution to the Green House Gas emission in the atmosphere.
He said the PFJ was successful in the district this year as more farmers went into rice production as compared to last year.
Mr Anyagre urged farmers in the district to make use of government policies in agriculture to improve their living condition.
GNA