Farmers advised to insure farms

By Bajin D. Pobia, GNA

Piina, UWR, June 3, GNA – Dr Timothy D. Sindim, Lambussie District Director of Food and Agriculture has appealed to farmers to consider insuring their farms against disasters.

He said the activities of the fall army worm and other disasters such floods and bushfires could cause farmers heavy losses and insurance could be an alternative way of surviving.

The activities of the fall army worm has now become a national issue and collective effort is needed to control the spread of the worm, he said.

Dr Sindim was addressing some traditional rulers, queen mothers, Assembly members and rural women farmers at Care International-Ghana “Pathways Project” workshop to deliberate on “Constraints facing women in the agricultural sector” held at Piina in the Lambussie District.

He urged communities to form spraying gangs to spray the worms, targeting where the worms lodged in the crops.

He said the farming season had just started in the district and currently several of the worms were found on grasses and farmers should be on the lookout and report the incidence of the worm in their farms to the agricultural agents.

Farmers should consider also use pulverised nim tree leaves and seeds to spread on their crops as emergency protection to ward off the worm before looking for chemicals to control the worms.

Dr Sindim advised farmers to regularly monitor the activities of the worm early mornings, late afternoon or early evening.

They should also check crop leaves for signs of damage and signs of dropping of the armyworm as well as informing neighbours about the presence of worm and report signs of damage or presence of the worm to agriculture extension officers.

He also advised farmers to plough old affected fields to expose cocoons to predators.

On the “Planting for Food and Jobs programme”, he said the programme was to help address the food insecurity challenges in the country and government had identified maize, soyabean rice sorghum and vegetables, whose production could lead to food security and raise incomes.

He appealed to farmers to register with Agriculture Extension Officers to benefit from the programme and however warned that a committee would monitor the farms of beneficiaries and anyone who lied about the number of acreages to profit from the programme would be punished.

Dr Sindim encouraged dry season gardeners to register with the programme saying the registration had no time limit.

Madam Gladys Assibi Tiah, Care Internation-Ghana Gender Advisor at Pathways Project, said the workshop was to identify some of the constraints facing women peasant farmers in the agricultural sector with the view to addressing them to give women farmers’ opportunities to increase food production.

The forum was also to raise awareness about the fall army worm among farmers in the area to control the spread of the worms, which destructive pattern could cause food shortage.

Madam Tiah advised women beneficiaries of the Planting for Food and Jobs project not to give their share of fertilizers to their husbands to apply on the farms as against their own farms.

She reminded the women that the project was not a “Father Christmas project” but that beneficiaries were going to pay later for the fertilizers provided them.

GNA

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