The Wa Central Prison in the Upper West Region has appealed to government for a tractor and other farm implements to help revamp its agriculture venture which has been halted for a while now due to lack of farming equipment.
The command until a few years ago, used to engage in farming at Bayiri, a community in the Wa Municipality where they produced maize and vegetables like cabbage, carrot, among others to supplement feeding of inmates in the region.
Speaking to the media during a donation to the inmates, the Regional Commander, Assistant Director of Prisons (ADP) Joseph Damolbil Miyella, said the equipment would not only help to revamp the old farm, it would also enable the command to go into gardening for the cultivation of vegetables.
He mentioned that with the help of the inmates, the command would cultivate crops that would be used to prepare meals for the inmates to help enhance their nutritional value and also bridge the feeding gap that existed due to the inadequate funds allocated for their feeding.
The Commander reiterated that the GH¢1.80 feeding money provided to cover three-square meals a day for each inmate was woefully inadequate and put the prison officers in a difficult position in providing regular meals for the inmates.
ADP Miyella said to ensure that the farming venture was brought to fruition, the command would need the support of government, Ministry of Food and Agriculture and non-governmental organisations in agriculture to assist them with basic farm tools such as hoes, irrigation cans, among others.
He added that the farming would rigorously be pursued if the command received a new tractor for the purpose.
Touching on other challenges facing the command, ADP Miyella lamented the difficulty officers had to go through when they had to transport inmates from the cell to specific locations for community service and said they mostly had to walk together with the inmates due to the absence of vehicles and other means of transport.
He called on government and well-meaning Ghanaians to help provide pick-up vehicles and tricycles to the command to enhance movement of inmates for community service.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
