The Tain District in the Bono Region has received European Union (EU) grant of €776,736 for a comprehensive agricultural project to help alleviate poverty.
The money would be invested in the development of aquaculture, poultry keeping and gari-processing
Briefing the media at Nsawkwa, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Tain, Charity Akua Foriwaa Dwommoh said the project was aimed at creating viable business opportunities for not less than 1,000 youth and women, adding “this is expected to discourage our youth from pursuing irregular migration.”
She noted that in the erstwhile Brong Ahafo Region, Tain and two other districts -Techiman North and Kintampo South benefited from the EU-funded project.
“We have already started the aquaculture component at the Degedege dam; some cages were fixed in the water about two weeks ago. Other individual groups have also started in-house fish farming. The gari-processors and poultry farmers have also started putting up structures,” she stated.
Under the One-village, One-dam initiative, she announced that five dams would be constructed at Namasa, Badu-Tainso, Yabraso, Debibi and Seikwa-Taino while the Degedege dam, which was constructed about 14 years ago, would be rehabilitated to boost irrigation farming and aquaculture.
She indicated that the district was slated to benefit from another economic empowerment initiative under the Ghana Productive Safety Net project, explaining that interested persons would be assisted to venture into vegetable farming and gari-processing, among others, to guarantee them with sustainable incomes.
Commenting on Planting for Export and Rural Development, Madam Dwommoh said the district in 2018 distributed 90,000 cashew seedlings to farmers in 10 communities and was scaled up to 136,000 in 2019 to benefit more farmers in 31 communities.
FROM DANIEL DZIRASAH, NSAWKWA
