Lolobi chief demands the services of extension officer to boost rice production
Nana Akoto Masakyi lll, Paramount Chief of Lolobi Traditional Area, has appealed to government to post an agricultural extension officer to the area to assist in their efforts at cultivating rice.
He said the staple has become the mainstay commodity of the area and there is the need to re-engineer the crop to increase yields and the shelf life.
Nana Masakyi made the appeal at a durbar to commemorate the Ipor and Rice festival of the people of the Lolobi Traditional Area, at Lolobi-Kumasi.
The festival instituted in 1975 has since become the rallying point for reunion and initiating development projects.
The event was held under the theme: “Enhancing the Development of the Lolobi Traditional Area through the construction of a nurse’s quarter for quality health delivery.”
He said the health benefits of the local brown rice could be harnessed and made a staple of the country at the same time become a major foreign exchange earner.
The Paramount Chief said the problem of post-harvest losses and the rising concern of middlemen exploiting rice farmers was detrimental to productivity and must also be addressed.
He called on government to fix the community’s eight kilometre road network linking Hohoe to promote commerce.
Nana Masakyi commended sons and daughters of the area for their communal spiritedness and expressed optimism that the nurse’s quarter’s project would be realised.
Highlights of the week-long festival include seminars on the environment, forest cover loses, misapplication of fertilizers, screening for eyes and breast cancer amongst others.
Source: GNA