Ghana’s Mion district to become major yam market

The introduction of the Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA) would position Mion district to become a major yam market in Ghana, Mr Issa Alhassan, Mion District Agriculture Officer on Monday said.

He said the five-year project, which begun this year, sought to support farmers with improved certified yam seeds to double yields to ensure food security.

Mr Alhassan said this when the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Mion, Mr Dan Wudinayi Makandan, handed over a refurbished office to his directorate at Sang.

The seven-room office facility, which cost about GH¢88,000 was built with funds from the District Assembly Common Fund.

The DCE also presented 17 tri-cycles to Zoomlion Company to be used to collect garbage in the area.

He said many young people in the area had expressed interest in the cultivation of yam, but faced the challenge of not getting the right seeds for cultivation.

Mr Alhassan said in the first year of the project, four demonstration centres had been established while a total of 16,000 yam seeds would be raised and given to farmers for cultivation.

“We hope to double the yam production from about 2,000 to 10,000 by the end of the project,” he said.

Mr Makandan said the district, which was recently carved from the Yendi Municipality, needed infrastructure and personnel development in areas such as education, health, water and sanitation.

“Due to office and accommodation challenges all the personnel of the Assembly share five rooms, which make working uncomfortable. Many of them have to commute a distance of about 71 kilometers from Tamale to work daily,” he said.

Mr Makandan also noted that preliminary assessment indicated that about 70 children shared one classroom in many basic schools.

Source: GNA