ADB to open branch at Tumu to support cotton farmers

The Agricultural Development Bank is to open a branch at Tumu in Upper West to support cotton farmers and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture programmes, Alhaji Ibrahim Adam, Board Chairman of the Bank has announced.

He said erratic financing of the cotton industry, couple with lawlessness and indiscipline had been the bane of cotton farming in the country.

Alhaji Adam made this known at a farmers’ durbar in Tumu to launch the Cotton “White Gold” campaign in the North West Zone of the Upper West Region on Saturday.

He said the bank would make sure that the right things were done to sustain cotton production in the area.

Alhaji Issahaque Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, in his welcoming address, said during the good days of cotton production, it helped provided already employment for the youth in the north.

He said the downturn in its operations had affected the general well-being of farmers and workers.

Many workers were laid-off and many people also deserted the communities during the sad days of cotton production in the north and therefore, revamping the cotton industry in the north and encouraging farmers to grow the crop in the 2011 crop season was welcoming news, Alhaji Salia said.

He said farmers in the Sissala East and Sissala West Districts were good cotton farmers and appealed to them to take up the challenge to produce more cotton to feed the textile industry and as well better their economies and livelihoods.

Alhaji Salia appealed to Olam Ghana Limited to make available tractor service and farm inputs such as fertilizers at the appropriate time for farmers to expand their acres.

“The safer net is to synchronize activities properly to make the best out of the unfavourable weather conditions, while efforts were made to provide irrigation facilities to modernize the industry”, he advised.

Source: GNA