About two hundred and seventy-eight people living with various forms of disabilities have been registered under the Planting for Food and Jobs to participate in this year’s farming activities.

The PWDs including; the physically challenged, the deaf and dump, hearing impaired and the blind and visually impaired registered with their families to secure some farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and some agro-machinery to help them to prepare their farms for cultivation.

The PWDs come under the programme with support from the District Assembly’s Common Fund (DACF) to enable them to have access to all the necessary privileges under the programme to enable them to support the response against food insecurity.

Mr Elias Atimbire, Bawku West District Director of Agriculture, said “Apart from 35 women groups supported by the Toede Rural Bank and some community based organisations including; the Banaba Area Community Health (BACH) project that supported 180 farmers in the district, the Anglican Diocesan Development Relief Organisation (ADDRO) also supporting about 200 farmers to cultivate varieties of food crops, the PFJ had brought big relief to farmers, especially those suffering some forms of disabilities”.

Mr Atimbire in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Zebilla said about 250,000 farmers registered with the PFJ programme to cultivate farms on subsistence bases and indicated that the directorate had supplied 55,000 NPK and 27,000 Urea fertilizers to about 45,000 farmers.

Mr Atimbire indicated that even though the demand for fertilizer coupons was high, the directorate was expecting about 22,500 bags of fertilizer, but had so far received 10,000 bags.

He mentioned that 25 bags of hybrid maize seeds had been secured for 125 acres of farmland, while 75 bags of ordinary maize, termed “Obaatampa” had been assigned to 200 acres of farmland in the district.

According to Mr Atimbire, 44 bags of soya bean is ready for distribution to a number of farmers to cultivate 125 acres of farmland.

Mr Atimbire urged the farmers to adhere to advice from the agricultural extension officers on the methods of cultivation in order to get the expected yields and called on the farmers to be prepared to buy the chemicals for the fall armyworm in case the directorate runs out of stock.

Madam Vivian Ayamba, District Chief Executive for the area warned against the smuggling of fertilizer across the borders of Ghana, warning that culprits would face the rigours of the law and urged them to be vigilant and report any person who may indulge in smuggling it.