The high
expectations of farmers in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region to
get good yields this year is hanging in the balance, as the rainfall pattern in
the area continues to be unfavourable to the farmers.
There has been insufficient rainfall
pattern in the entire District this year resulting in total crop failure. The
Central Gonja District Director of the Ministry of Food and Agricultural
(MoFA), Abdul Manan Abdul Kadri has therefore predicted that there would be
severe food shortage and rising food prices next year, if something drastic is
not done to help farmers recover
the heavy losses stirring at their faces. All the farmers in the three regions
of the North depend largely on natural rainfall for their agricultural
businesses. But since June 2014 till date, the farmers especially those in
Central Gonja District have not received sufficient rainfall. Farmers who went
into early cultivation have been heavily disappointed, as their anticipation
for early rains did not materialize. A visit by Savannahnews to some of the
heavily affected farms including a 300 acre farm belonging to one Alhassan Baba
Darison revealed that the soils are totally dried up begging for rains and
moisture to stimulate germination and growth of the crops. Alhassan Baba
Darison, owner of the 300 acre maize and soybean farm as well as 75 acres of
organic mango plantation, has employed 21 labourers who are constantly working
on the farms and several other casual workers. According to him, he had so far
invested 137,000 Ghana cedis loan
into his farm this year, and also purchased a new planter at the cost of 17,000
cedis. But the total absence of the rains had caused him to loose
everything. The Farmers believe that government has not done well to
support the agricultural sector in the Central Gonja District especially in the
area of irrigation dam provision.
Source SavannaNews
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