Kpando District steps up sunflower cultivation

Kpando (V/R), Nov. 9, GNA - The Kpando District Youth Employment Programme has started harvesting several acres of sunflower cultivated at Kpando Adofe while those at Gbefi and Aveme are yet to be harvested. Mr Kofi Edward Elikem Ahedor, the District Co-coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme, told the GNA in an interview that the District Secretariat had embraced the cultivation of sunflower due to its vast economic potential and that the district was leading in the production of the crop in the region.

Mr Ahedor said 30 acres of the plant was cultivated at Kpando-Adofe, 32 acres at Gbefi and 10 acres on pilot irrigation at Aveme. He said harvesting and threshing of the crop required more hands that created job opportunities for other youths who are not members of the programme.

Mr Ahedor said Tragramans Sunflower Company at Tema provided consultancy services on land preparation, planting, application of fertilizer and chemicals and buys the seeds to process into free cholesterol edible oil.

He said the current producer price was 1.8 million cedis per metric ton and a farmer could make a profit of 3.2 million cedis on an acre of sunflower if all the good farming practices were followed. Mr Ahedor said the Kpando District was blessed with fertile land and with the Volta Lake at its disposal sunflower could be cultivated throughout the year.