Farmers want adequate loans from financial institutions

Gyewani-Nkwanta (Eastern Region), 22nd June 99 ?

 

Farmers in the Birim North district of the Eastern region have appealed to financial institutions to give them adequate loans to enable them to maintain and expand their cocoa farms.

They also appealed to the government to reduce the prices of inputs, such as spraying machines, which now cost 950,000 cedis, from 700,000 cedis.

According to the farmers, the situation makes it difficult for individual farmers to purchase and use it on their farms against insect pests and the black pod disease.

A spokeswoman for the farmers, Ms Augustina Yaa Bortey, the 1993 Eastern Regional Award Winner for outstanding contribution to agriculture, made the appeal at a cocoa farmers' rally, dubbed "ye wafuo yie" at Gyewani-Nkwanta in the Birim North district at the weekend.

She promised to establish a gari-processing factory at Bortekrom, in a bid to assist women in the area to generate income to help their families and, therefore, urged farmers to form "nnoboa" groups to help each other in their farm work.

She appealed to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to assist them in the setting up of more gari-processing factories.