Seventy farmers from the Talensi District in the Upper East Region have been introduced to dry-season farming through a field day exercise aimed at equipping them with best agricultural practices.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Talensi, Daniel Dung Mahama, sought to expose farmers to modern irrigation techniques to enable them to cultivate crops all year round, thereby improving food security and livelihoods in the constituency.
As part of the exercise, the farmers visited selected farm sites in the Sumbrungu community in the Bolgatanga Municipality and Googu in the Bawku West District. These areas are known for their advanced dry-season farming practices, with farmers utilizing drilled mechanized boreholes and dams as primary water sources to cultivate vegetables such as pepper, onion, tomato, cabbage, and carrots.
The farmers in the Talensi district, who primarily depend on rain-fed agriculture, were given the opportunity to observe how their counterparts in these areas successfully grow crops during the dry season. The demonstration included practical lessons on irrigation methods, soil management, and pest control to maximize yields despite the arid conditions.
Speaking to the media after the exercise, the MP, Daniel Dung Mahama emphasized the importance of transitioning from a single farming season to an all-year-round agricultural model. He noted that fulfilling his campaign promise to support farmers with sustainable farming methods would not only boost food production but also improve household incomes.
“This was one of the campaign promises that we made to support farmers to go in dry season farming in line with the NDC manifesto to support farmers. This will reduce poverty, enhance food security, and create more job opportunities within the constituency,” Mr. Mahama stated.
To ensure the sustainability of this initiative, the MP announced plans to desilt existing dams and drill additional boreholes across the constituency to provide reliable water sources for irrigation.
“The way forward after the visit is that I have asked my people to do a survey in disilting the dams in the Talensi area and that will take place very soon. We will also know areas where people are interested in farming, and whether we will drill boreholes for them to farm. We are going to bring people who are showing interest so that it will serve as a motivator for others and we us to expand it,” he added.
The participating farmers, who were visibly excited about the initiative, expressed their gratitude to the MP for his support. They acknowledged that the exposure to modern irrigation techniques had given them hope of expanding their farming activities beyond the rainy season.
“If this practice is rolled out in Talensi, it will be a benefit to the youth. I want to advise my colleague youth to go into farming, it is not everybody who can go into mining or teaching. Even if you are a teacher or miner, you can still go into farming,” Gbeng Simon, former Assemblyman for Tongo Central stated.
Another farmer, Juliana Baba, a small-scale farmer from Baare stated that the knowledge gained from the field day would help her improve her productivity and adopt more efficient irrigation techniques.
“This is a great opportunity for us. We have always relied on one farming season, but now we have seen that we can also farm throughout the year. We appreciate the MP’s efforts and will do our best to adopt these practices,” she remarked.
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