Poultry farmers in the Nkoranza North Municipality of the Bono East Region have appealed to the government to distribute more chicks under the Nkoko Nketenkete initiative to benefit more farmers in the area.

During a visit to some farms in Nkoranza, the farmers told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the initiative was laudable and welcome; however, more farmers in the area ought to benefit from it and boost the growth of the poultry sector.

Mr Joshua Yaw Jejija, the Acting Nkoranza North Municipal Director of Agriculture, told the GNA that more than 50,000 farmers in the area had so far registered with the directorate to benefit from the government agriculture intervention programmes.

He said only about 10,000 of the registered poultry farmers had benefited from the free distribution of birds, feed, and other essential items to care for the animals, adding that the birds were distributed to 200 households, with each household receiving 50 chicks.

Mr Jejija said the Municipality had also been selected to construct a Farmer Service Centre, adding that 0 acres of land had been acquired to build the facility.

He said about 10,000 farmers had also registered to benefit from the Feed Ghana programme for livestock production, aquaculture, and crop farming, saying that 5,000 of them registered for the Nkoko Nketenkete initiative.

Mr Jejija expressed concern about climate change impacts manifesting in bad weather conditions, saying that the unpredictability of the weather, erratic rains and extreme heat were affecting farming in the area.

He urged the government and stakeholders to provide farmers with ready markets, noting that the lack of markets was also impeding farming activities in the municipality.

Mr Jejija called on the government to adequately resource the directorate, expressing concern about limited personnel and a lack of logistics, such as vehicles and motorbikes, to facilitate effective monitoring and supervision.

When contacted, Godfred Dapaah, the Nkoranza North Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) praised the government for interventions put in place to enhance the socio-economic livelihoods of the farmers and the people, assuring that the government would distribute more of the birds to the farmers in the next phase of the Nkoko Nketenkete initiative and urged beneficiaries to take good care of the birds.

He said improved health and education facilities, as well as the road and agricultural sectors, had alleviated the plight of the people and called on them to support the government in advancing the “reset” Ghana agenda and thereby create a better society for all.