By Austin Ofori Addo:
Mr. Shakespeare Djokoto, an Agricultural Consultant has advised farmers to take farm maintenance seriously and desist from the habit of blaming their misfortunes on bush fires which he argues can eliminate the scourge of bushfires, cautioning that failure to heed his advice can result in food shortage in the country.
According to Mr. Shakespeare, it is a pity to hear that there is shortage of cassava on Ghanaian markets because farmers have refused to learn and still sticking to the old methods of farming, adding that new trends of farming methods are emerging.
He said cassava is a drought resistant crop which with good maintenance can always battle with the drought. He said this can prevent the outbreak of fire on the farms and therefore called on farmers to adopt these new trends of farming. This he noted can help them to rope in huge profits and prevent losses.
Mr. Djokoto however was the least satisfied with the work of the Agric Extention agents whom he said were not doing their work. This he said was because the institution is in a state of collapse and called on immediate steps to ensure that steps are immediately taken to fix the problem.
He went a step further to suggest that retired extension officers should be brought back to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture since they have the ability to resurrect the current decline in the Agric sector in Ghana since they have a lot of skills and experience.
He said food is inevitable to human survival and therefore urged farmers to do their best to sustain its productivity.
Source: ritefmonline.org
