Farmers Primed for Possible Drought

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in the Upper East Region is to begin an emergency advisory service programme to educate farmers on the type of crops to grow during this year's farming season.

The move is in anticipation of a drought especially in the Bolgatanga area where for the past two months there has not been sufficient rain to enable farmers to plant.

For those who took advantage of the first rain in mid-April, their crops are withering due to poor rainfall.

The Deputy Regional Director of MOFA, Mr. Roy Ayariga, who made this known to the GNA at Bolgatanga last week, said the strategies the Ministry has adopted include advising farmers to use early maturing crops developed by the Manga Agriculture Research Centre near Bawku and to grow leguminous crops such as groundnuts and cowpea should the present trend continue.

Mr. Ayariga said farmers would be supplied with seedlings to cultivate root tubers such as sweet potatoes and Frafra potatoes to replace the traditional early millet whose planting season is almost over.

Mr. Ayariga said although it is too early to predict whether the whole of the region would face food deficit this farming season, his outfit has instituted adequate measures to ensure a successful season.

"Farmers here practise intercropping with variation in the period of growing, and therefore if the rains have failed them on the millet, there could be other alternatives".

The Regional Director of the Meteorological Services Department, Mr. Nathan Afunyah said it has been difficult to explain the prevailing rainfall trend. "On several occasions we had announced the weather forecast on radio only for things to take a different turn".

Mr. Afunyah, however, said the problem is restricted within the Bolgatanga Township. "The formation of the clouds moves to the outskirts of Bolgatanga where these area get the downpour".

Rains continue to threaten within Bolgatanga and surrounding areas with the formation of heavy clouds. But whenever it is about to rain, all the clouds disperse, leaving the weather bright and sunny.