www.padfm.com.gh
Two (2) farming groups have received training from the Department of Agriculture in the West Gonja municipal assembly of the Savannah region on farmer business school and related skills to help them venture into farming business. This is the first phase of the training which is expected to be carried out to ten (10) other farming groups to bring the total to twelve (12).
Bunyanso Farms Permaculture Institute, which helped in organizing the Farmer Business School for BUNYANSO CASHEW FARMERS ASSOCIATION AND AWABA CASHEW FARMERS ASSOCIATION at Attributo in Damongo in West Gonja municipal assembly, are the first two groups to benefit from the training.
The Farmer Business School program is spear headed by the Agriculture Department and supported by Ministry of Food and Agriculture, german cooperation (giz) and European Union with the major objective of helping all the Farmer Business School groups to implement the twelve Modules (12-Ms)
Ms Zubaida Amingo Amidu, the trainer of the groups explained that all groups will receive training skills on how to make farming a business. The skills acquired will support members of the groups to increase income and reduce poverty, hence increase socioeconomic lives of the members.
She said the 12-Modules encourage farmers to see farming as a business, know the units of their farms to know farm assets. The 12-Ms will also help farmers manage their farms for enough food, upgrade skills on money-out money-in (Know whether you do good business or not), help them make decisions for more income, provide opportunities to diversify farm enterprises.
She added that the training will assist farmers manage money throughout the year, lead them on how to get good financial services from banks, assist farmers make more money with quality cashew, help them benefit from membership in farmer organizations, assist them invest in the re-planting of cashew and make them become entrepreneurs in practice.
Mr. Oppong Francis and Zubaida Amingo Amidu of Departments of Agriculture are responsible for training the 12 farming groups in the municipality. Each group consist of 30 members. In total, the 12 groups will see 360 members trained with skills on agric business in the West Gonja municipality.
Mr. Musah Kusubari Karim, the Hon. MCE for West Gonja municipality, at a short program to award certificates to members, expressed gratitude to the two (2) farming groups, the Agriculture Director and his team and their partners for taking the training to the door steps of farmers.
He applauded the trainers and group members for their readiness to learn new skills in farming school business and urged them to apply whatever skills attained in the five (5) day training to help make profit out of farming
Mr Musah Kusubari said the government of Ghana has implemented some good policies to help improve farming in the country, hence the groups must take advantage of such good policies to expand income through farming.
“In the 21st century, farming has become a business and for that matter the NPP government has implemented the planting for food and jobs program to help improve income of farmers. The planting for food and jobs program has contributed immensely to the economy of Ghana. The program has seen reduction of costs to agric inputs and has helped more women and youth to go into farming to make more money”.
He appealed to the beneficiary groups to cut their coat according to their sizes because farming is now a strategic business.
Currently, farming should not just be about huge number of acres ploughed but it should be about you farming and being able to care for the farm after planting.
The MCE assured the groups of the support of the municipal assembly and said he will find time together with the MP for Damongo constituency, Abu Jinapor to visit them in one of their meeting days to have more discussion with them on the progress of the groups at Attrubutu.
Group members took turn one after the other to give testimonies with regard to the skills attained during the training.
All the 60 members for the two groups received certificate of training.
Present at the training were the Agriculture Director Peter Claver, NPP constituency chairman, Alhaji Adams, Hon Unit Committee members for the Attrubutu/ Abingakura electoral area and other stakeholders.
Source: padfm.com.gh / Abdulai Zulkaninu (0242381890)
