The Member of Parliament for the Ellembelle constituency in the Western region, Hon Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah has assured members of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) in the Western Region to construct an agroecology demonstration farm to encourage the adoption of sustainable farming practices in the region. The MP made this statement when he joined PFAG members in the district during the association’s capacity building session on agroecology.
The training session was organized by PFAG, with support from the 11th Hour Project, for its members in the Ellembelle, Jomorro and Nzema East districts on sustainable agriculture practices. Hon. Kofi-Buah, in his remarks acknowledged the challenges farmers face in the production of food and admitted the need for actionable measures to be put in place to make agriculture attractive especially to the youth.
Mr. Bismark Owusu Nortey, the Executive Director of PFAG, in acknowledging the MP’s presence and commitment, highlighted some challenges farmers face that affect their farming businesses as well the opportunities available to improve production. He indicated the need to create reliable output markets for smallholder farmers to improve their incomes. Other areas of concern were the implementation of tax exemptions on agricultural products and machineries which will subsequently result in the reduction of input cost. In addition, he stressed on the need to promote sustainable agricultural practices drawing attention to agroecology, and calling for the setup of an agroecology demonstration farm to build the knowledge and capacities of farmers in the production of organic food commodities. In response, the MP pledged his support to addressing the challenges faced by farmers in the district and his support to setting up an agroecology demonstration farm in the district.
The member of parliament encouraged farmers to adopt sustainable practices to produce quality food crops in order to meet the food demand in the country. He then donated farm inputs and cash amount to support members during the production season.