Speaking at the 41st National Farmers’ Day celebration at Kojoboni in the Kpandai District of the Northern Regon, the District Director of Agriculture, Mr. Gabriel Amanor, said staffing deficit remains one of the biggest obstacles to boosting yields as officers are overstretched and unable to provide timely field visits, climate-smart advisory services, and training.
He indicated that agricultural productivity in the Kpandai District continues to suffer due to a severe shortage of Agricultural Extension Officers.
He said there were only 12 officers serving more than 90,000 farmers across 244 communities, in the district and that they were unable to provide adequate technical support, timely field monitoring, and modern advisory services to farmers.
“The men and women who feed us are not receiving the technical support they require,” he said. “Increasing our staff strength is essential if we want to scale up productivity and secure our food systems.”
Kpandai, is one of the country’s food-producing zones, such as yams, groundnut crops, and other cereals, with almost 90 per cent of households engaged in agriculture.
However, poor road networks continue to undermine productivity and worsen post-harvest losses, as farmers struggle to transport produce to markets.
Mr. Amanor called for urgent government intervention to help improve rural infrastructure and support agricultural growth.
The District Director appealed for stronger investment in the Department of Agriculture to enhance input distribution, pest and disease control, farmer training, and data-driven planning.
He also appealed for the establishment of a veterinary clinic to serve the district’s expanding livestock sector, noting that reliable animal health services were crucial to sustaining production.
He highlighted additional challenges such as limited access to quality inputs, low mechanisation, unpredictable rainfall, and rising climate-related shocks including floods and prolonged dry spells.
The Kpandai District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr. Haruna Abdul-Karim, announced the allocation of a 20-acre plot at Lesseni for the construction of a mechanization centre, a move aimed at boosting access to farming equipment and services for smallholder farmers.
“We have already secured a 20-acre land at Lesseni for the Kpandai District mechanization centre, and plans are far advanced to establish a Farmer Service Center to make tractors, harvesters, planters, and the essential equipment easily accessible to our farmers,” the DCE stated.
He urged the chiefs and people of Kpandai to resolve lingering land disputes that are hindering agricultural development.
He said the district risked missing out on the full benefits of government interventions if conflicts over ownership and access continued.
“It saddens me that as a district we have allowed land disputes to affect our massive agricultural potential,” he said, appealing for cooperation among traditional authorities and families to make farmlands readily accessible.
With the harmattan season intensifying, the DCE cautioned residents against bush burning, cooking on farms, and hunting with fire, describing the practices as destructive and harmful to the local economy. He warned that offenders would face legal sanctions and urged communities to help protect the environment.
Some award-winning farmers expressed appreciation to the assembly for hosting the celebration in their community. They, however, appealed for the construction of feeder roads to ease transportation and reduce post-harvest losses.
