The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has made known his intention toward the farming community in Ghana. He stated that his next government will form Farmers’ Services Centers to improve mechanized farming and increase yields.
He revealed that during the last NDC administration, he cut the sod for the first Farmers’ Service Center in Boenu in 2016 however, the NDC lost political power in that same year, and the project was discontinued. He indicated that the Farmer Service Center will have all the equipment needed for farming.
“We are going to open Farmers’ Service enter in every district. It is going to provide all the services that farmers want. Your fertilizer, you go to the Farmers’ Service Center and buy your fertilizer from there. If you don’t have money it [the fertilizer] will be given to you on credit and then when you harvest your crop you come and pay”.
John Dramani Mahama
John Mahama also indicated that the Farmers’ Service Centers would also act as a micro-credit institution that would loan all registered farmers the funds required for farming every farming season. He added that the centers will have Extension Officers who will pay regular visits to farms to ensure that the right farming practices are being observed.
Accordingly, he stated that the centers will provide improved seeds for farmers to ensure great yields and indicated that equipment like tractors, trailers, planters, harrows, and cultivators among others will be provided by centers to reduce the financial cost of getting these pieces of equipment on the farmer.
He advised farmers to come together and form farming cooperatives which will ensure that the Farmers’ Service Centers will not focus on individual farmers but a group of farmers. He indicated that having farmers in groups will ensure that services are distributed impartially and effortlessly. “This is the modern age of agriculture and I’m sure that farmers are going to be some of the happiest people under a new JDM-NDC administration” he stated.
More About Farming
The flagbearer of the NDC pledged to revitalize the cotton industry to increase income from farming cotton and to create employment opportunities. He indicated that the northern part of the country initially produced a substantial amount of cotton for processing and export.
He noted that the NDC administration under Atta-Mills tried to reintroduce mass cotton farming but failed, however the new NDC administration will start the process by revamping the cotton processing ginneries in the various part of the north.
“Those who are ready to farm cotton, we will give you the input, we are going to help you and when you produce the cotton, we will buy the cotton from you. Then Ghana will buy it and process it and export it or send it to the textile mills to be processed domestically”.
John Dramani Mahama
Furthermore, John Dramani Mahama promised to invest in sesame seed farming. He stated that the government will grant loans to those engaged in sesame seed farming to expand its production.
He indicated that soya bean is a high-value crop used in different industries like poultry; soya bean is processed to create poultry feed for the poultry industries. He stated that his goal is to help soya bean farmers expand production in other to reduce its importation from other countries.
The NDC flagbearer made these remarks during his ‘Building Ghana Tour’ in Tumu in the Upper West region where he met with members of the community on Saturday, June 9, 2024. The meeting aimed to engage the people of Tumu to share the party’s policies with them and to also hear from them, their needs, and what they expect from the government in terms of development.
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