Jirapa MCE hands over 82,250 cashew seedlings to 127 LEAP beneficiaries in Jirapa
In line with Governments’ commitment towards alleviating extreme poverty in the Ghanaian society and to boost the productivity and incomes of the poor, Government introduced the Ghana Productive Safety net Program in 2018 for some selected districts in the country.
Fortunately and through the intervention of Jirapa Municipal Chief Executive Hon. Nicholas Soyiri the Jirapa Assembly has been considered for the program.
The program has numerous components /activities of which the Jirapa Municipal Assembly has selected the Climate Change component among the others.
Under this module the Assembly has reached a decision to embark on cashew plantations in the Municipality. It has subsequently secured 10 acres of lands at Degri, and Konzokala Dogo 15 acres.
It is against this backdrop that on Friday 20, October 2023, the MCE; Hon. Lawyer Nicholas Soyiri met the people of Konzokala Dogo and Degri to hand over the cashew seedlings to the community for the commencement of plantation in the area.
Mr. Abdulahi Mohammed, the Jirapa Municipal development planning officer at the assembly said the Assembly has recruited hundred and twenty seven (127) people from the Livelyhood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program in the two communities who will serve as farm labourers in the next 2years. He said this people will work for only 6hrs everyday in the farm and they will be marked a daily wage which will be cumulatively paid every month by the Government into their E-SWICH accounts. He reiterated that, the concept of the program is to help reduce extreme poverty in communities in Ghana.
According to Mr. Abdulahi, the assembly recruited one hundred and two (102) women from both beneficiary communities Konzokala Dogo and Degri and twenty five(25) men totalling one hundred and twenty seven (127).
During the handing over exercise, a total of 82,250 cashew seedlings were handed over to the beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries expressed their appreciation to the district assembly and government for the support and pledged to adopt the best practices they learned during the training to ensure the success of their cashew farms. They also urged the government to continue providing support to the agricultural sector, especially in the form of seedlings, and other inputs.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Lawyer Nicholas Soyiri, in his remarks, reiterated the commitment of the assembly to support the agricultural sector and promote economic growth in the Municipality. He encouraged the farmers to adopt cashew cultivation as a profitable activity and assured them of the assembly’s support in providing training, inputs, and market opportunities.
Hon. Nicholas also entreats the beneficiaries to create fire belts to protect the seedlings as we go into the dry season.
He advised the community especially the farm labourers to own the project for the benefit of themselves and the future generations.
The MCE was joined by the Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr. Mohammed Abdul Majeed, Some staff from the Municipal agric department, the development planning officer at the assembly Mr. Abdulahi Mohammed and some Assembly staff.
