Farming project to minimise rural/urban migration underway
Farmers in five districts along the Black Volta River in the Upper West Region would be supported with equipment to tap water from the river for legumes and vegetable farming during the dry season.
Five hundred farmers would benefit from the venture intended to arrest the annual migration of the youth to the southern parts of Ghana, especially during the dry season.
It would be spearheaded by the Northern Rural Growth Project (NRGP), Dr Ephraim Avea Nsor, Upper West Regional Minister, said at a media briefing in Wa.
The meeting was to update journalists on current development initiatives and efforts being made to address some of the challenges confronting the region.
He, however, expressed regret that the region was perceived to have the largest number of migrants engaged in farming in other parts of the country, especially Brong-Ahafo Region.
Dr Nsor said NRGP would engage experts who would select the sites for the new project to be implemented as a pilot scheme and would initially engage 10 groups of five farmers each from the five districts along the river.
He said his administration was determined to provide the right leadership to drastically reduce poverty in the region through a regional development strategy and a medium term development plan.
Dr Nsor said a high profile World Bank team, led by the Country Director, would be in the region on a two-day working visit to interact with the people and identify areas of need that could merit the Bank’s support.
The Regional Minister appealed to the media to support the police and road safety agencies to sensitize motorcyclists on the need to minimize the alarming fatalities resulting from motor cycle crashes.
He said the medical authorities of the Wa Regional Hospital had informed him that no day passed without a death involving amotor cyclists and called for strict enforcement of safety regulations on the roads.
Source: GNA