Story By: Eric Asamoah
The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema Yohane Amarh Ashitey has said the Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Fisheries Department of the metropolis has carried out training involving fish processors in an attempt to add value to the fish products.
He made this known during this year’s Farmers’ Day celebration at Tema Newtown. He said sixty (60) fish processors were trained on the use of raised drying racks for drying fish and hoped that the women will adopt this method of fish drying so that fish caught in Tema waters will be hygienically produced for supermarkets and export.
He told the farmers that the Assembly is poised to put in place skilled and well-equipped agricultural development personnel to extend their knowledge and skills to heighten and accelerate agriculture within the metropolis through value addition.
He said since the inception of the Planting for Food and Jobs program from 2017 to 2022, a total of twenty-two thousand, two hundred and six (22,206) begs of NPK fertilizer were received by two (2) Agro inputs shops in the metropolis and distributed to two thousand, seven hundred and ninety – six (2796) males and eight hundred and thirty-six (836) female.
He added that a total of thirteen thousand hundred and Eighty – Two (13,182) bags of urea fertilizer were received and distributed to thousand nine hundred and eighty – three (1983) males and four hundred and ten (410) females.
He said under the Rearing for Food and Jobs program, the metropolis Agricultural Department received a total of four hundred and ten (410) cockerels and distributed them to six male livestock farmers.
The Metropolitan Director of Agriculture Esther Amba said that within the Tema metropolis, the department has made several interventions in promoting agricultural value addition among the women at Tema Manhean.
She said the main challenge facing the metropolis and the entire nation is the deteriorating state of the GIHOC Abattoir affecting meat inspection, drying of fish on the ground and the lack of slaughter slabs for slaughtering and inspection of pork poses a health risk to consumers.
The overall Best Farmer in the metropolis Muhaize Mustapha received a tricycle (Aboboya) farming inputs and a certificate. Speaking to the media he said the main challenge facing their work is climate change which has affected their harvest. He praised the government for the subsided fertilizer policy and called on the government to increase the number of fertilizers given to the assembly.
Some of the farmers who received awards include Israel Quasiah Abey as the Best Fishers Worker, Mr. Abraham Odie Tetteh as the best livestock farmer, Best Young Entrepreneur went to Hassan Amedu, Best Fisher Paul Tetteh Lartey and the first best runner up was Bawa Sulah. They all received certificates, television sets, fridges, and inputs to do their work.
