The Biakoye District Assembly in the Oti region, has taken delivery of some 6,500 coconut seedlings under the Planting for Export and Rural Development Programme, geared towards promoting rural economic growth.
The Programme is also aimed to improve household incomes of rural farmers through the provision of certified improved seedlings, extension services, business support and regulatory mechanisms.
Madam Millicent Kabuki Carboo, Biakoye District Chief Executive, said the seedlings received by the district through its Agriculture Department was the first phase of the distribution to be freely distributed to farmers in coconut plantations.
She said the district was expected to receive 15,000 coconut seedlings under the programme for the farmers within the district catchment areas.
Madam Carboo urged the beneficiary farmers to be appreciative of the good work the Government was doing, adding that the seedlings that had come to every farmer were costly.
She bemoaned the situation whereby free things were usually not valued by benefactors and admonished the beneficiaries to make sure that the invested fortune into the seedlings did not end up wasted.
Madam Carboo noted that she would also visit every farm after three months to ascertain if indeed the seedlings were planted, their level of growth and if best practices were being adhered to as well as applied.
The beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the Government and the district for supporting them with the free seedlings while promising to produce the best out of the seedlings.
In a separate development, the District Security Council has also been holding meetings to discuss security situation and related issues in the district to map out strategies to ensure
By Edward Williams, GNA
