About 450 pineapple farmers from a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) at the weekend ended a three-day seminar on Rapid Multiplication Technique production and marketing of varieties of pineapples. The varieties include smooth cayenne and sugar loaf, which were meant for the local and foreign markets. The programme was organised by the Abibiman Sankofa Cultural Movement (ASCUM) for its members mostly banana, citrus and pineapple growers, drawn from Akim Oda in the Birim Central Municipality and Suhum Kraboa Coaltar District. In a closing address, Mr. Freeman Madji, Executive Director of ASCUM, said the aspiration of the small scale farmer in the area is to intensify pineapple production, especially the cultivation of the new varieties now popular among the local communities. Mr. Madji said the Movement was ready to assist farmers with logistics and even loans for expansion of their farms to enable them to move from small-scale to large-scale farming. The Director urged the participants who were taught how to impact ideas and skills acquired to others for increased pineapple production for the local market as well as for export. He thanked the facilitators from the Municipal Agriculture Office and said, among all the non-traditional crops, pineapple was one of the major crops with a high export value and accounted for about seven per cent of the total national export. Mr. Madji therefore, appealed to the youth of the area to register with ASCUM in their numbers to start the cultivation of pineapple, instead of going after white colour jobs in the cities. Source: GNA