National service personnel urged to venture into agriculture

The Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Mr Philip Gyamfi, has called on national service personnel to consider pursuing agriculture during their service tenure.

He noted that personnel who opted to pursue farming would be supported with all the necessary resources, stressing that the Authority would further give hand- hold support to those who intend to venture into agric- entrepreneurship after their service tenure.

“I want everybody posted within the NSS to see it as a call to duty to help build Ghana a stronger economy and those who are going to work with us would be well treated, accommodated properly, give them air-conditioned buses to our farms, give them a shot at becoming their own agric entrepreneurs,” he stated

Mr Gyamfi disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of Feed Ghana Programme (FGP) by President John Dramani Mahama at Techiman in the Bono East Region. 

The FGP initiative by the government was aimed at transforming the country’s agricultural land scape, enhance food security, and boost agricultural productivity.

State institutions such as NSS, Ghana Prisons Service, Senior High schools, University of Ghana, Faith base organisations and members of the general public among others are being encouraged to participate in the programme in an attempt at reducing Ghana food imports bills.

The National Service Director further disclosed that the service this year was targeting about 600 acres of maize, 500 acres of rice and 400 acres of tomato in the major season with the intension of cultivating legumes and other vegetables in the minor season, urging service personnel to join us in our farms to honour the president by reducing the cost of food imports” in the country.

Mr Gyamfi further revealed that “currently we have engaged 400 women at Yapei to transplant tomato seedlings in our 400 acre farms, while on our 100 acre tomato farm at Abutamtim in Kumawu of Ashanti similar activities are ongoing.”

He assured that his outfit would take FGP much further than any other government agency to achieve its goals, objectives and targets.

Mr Gyamfi appealed to the media to highlight on their farming activities so as to attract more young people into agric business to better their lot.

FROM DANIEL DZIRASAH, TECHIMAN