Coronavirus: PFAG trains Agriculture Extension Officers, donates PPE

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) have presented Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to the Techiman Municipal Directorate of Agriculture to be distributed among Agriculture Extension Officers (AEOs)in the Municipality.

They comprised; quantities of tissue towels, nose masks, hand sanitizers, veronica buckets, washing bowls and dustbins.

The presentation was to climax a day’s training workshop on the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) the Association with support from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) organised for the AEOs in the Techiman Municipality of the Bono East Region.

Participants were taken through the history, early signs and symptoms and the mode of transmission, and national situation of the deadly COVID-19, and how best they could protect themselves from contracting the virus disease as they reached out to farmers.

Mr Charles Nyaaba, the Head of programmes and Advocacy of the PFAG, explained the training was being conducted nationwide because the AEOs also played frontal roles in the fight against the COVID-19.

The training would position them well to sensitize farmers, particularly, those in deprived communities on the COVID-19 as well.

Mr Nyaaba lauded government’s social and economic intervention measures put in place to lessen the burdens of Ghanaians as national cases of the COVID-19 soared, but expressed the fear that most farmers could not apply and access the stimulus packages government announced to support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

This is because most of the famers could not meet the requirement, he said and added that the Association was undertaking a nationwide consultation to collate views of farmers and see the possibility they could support them to access the stimulus package.

Mr. James Adu, the Techiman Municipal Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) commended the PFAG for the training, which he added would empower the AEOs to protect themselves and the immediate families.

He said AEOs and the farmers had huge role to play in ensuring national food security amidst COVID-19 control, and the MoFA required support to engage the farmers regularly.

Nana Ameyaw Manu, the Vice President of the PFAG, praised government for engaging more AEOs, and hoped that the government would continue to listen to the PFAG and deepen its engagement with the leadership of the Association to better the lives of rural farmers and enhance national food security as well.