Authorities at the Asokore Mampong Municipality in the Ashanti Region are asking the government to consider animal rearing as part of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme for the area.

Farmers in the municipality grow a lot of exotic vegetables like cabbage, carrot, green pepper and spring onion, but these were not included in the selected crops for the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative.

Communities under the municipality have challenges with arable lands for farming but they are blessed with the skill in animal husbandry.

Residents, mostly Muslim and people from the northern part of the country, are already engaged in commercial and domestic livestock farming.

Municipal Director of Agriculture, Ms Josephine Amo, believes such venture is one of the best options for creating jobs.

According to her, “in Asawasi [a town in the municipality], every three houses that you take, they either sheep, goats or cattle being reared there, which helps them during the Eid celebrations, they sell and make a lot of money which helps them to take care of their children.

“In fact, Asokore Mampong tops in the rearing of ruminants in the region. I think if every household is helped to rear these animals, let’s say a number of males and females are giving to them, it will help and at the end of the year we will go to these people and collect the off-springs and give it to another household.”

She projects that in a matter of five or six years, every household will be rearing animals to support the project.

“We are trying to ask the committee for Planting for Food if animals can be a part so that our farmers here too can enjoy,” she adds.

Ms Amo spoke to Luv Business during a town hall meeting with members of the public on government initiatives to improve lives and the economy.

Municipal Chief Executive for Asokore Mampong, Alidu Seidu, says the assembly has secured land for the setting up an abattoir and to provide a ready market for meat and other animal products.

He says he is in talks with the chief of Parkoso (Parkosohene) over a land that was earmarked for a market in Parkoso for the project.

“When you go to Kumasi Abattoir, for instance, about 90 percent of the workers there hail from Asokore Mampong it is from here that they go there to work. So why don’t we find a way of getting them back into the system of ours so that we can also generate some money for the government,” he said.