NORTHERN REGION FARMERS APPEAL FOR MORE SUPPORT

(Daily Graphic, Jan 18, 2012, page 23)

SMALLHOLDER farmers in the Northern Region have appealed to the government to extend more support to them to enable them increase food production and ensure food security in the country.

They argued that in spite of the introduction of some programmes and projects to support the agricultural sector, they were still unable to utilise fully these initiatives due to a number of setbacks.

Key among these drawbacks, they mentioned, are the difficulties they face in accessing the services of agric extension officers, the late delivery of agric inputs, the lack of agric machinery, poor irrigation facilities and the lack of drought and flood resistant seeds.

The farmers made their concerns known at the end of their annual regional farmers’ network meeting which took place in Tamale organised collaboratively by UrbANET, ActionAid and Grameen Ghana.

The participants included members of the Northern Region Vegetable Farmers Union, Nanumba North Women Farmers, Nanumba South Farmers Network and Northern Region Vegetable Farmers Union.

They said many farmers were not aware of the initiatives introduced by the government to improve the agricultural sector, such as the block farm project, fertilizer subsidy and the establishment of mechanization centres.

They therefore recommended the training of more agricultural extension offices and community extension volunteers to reach out to smallholder farmers.

They also called for the institutionalisation of quarterly appraisal forums between farmers and agricultural officers to find out the status of the implementation of agric support projects and to find solutions to emerging challenges.

On access to finance, the farmers entreated the government to establish more agric credit facilities with favourable conditions such as low interest rates, so as to enhance access to these credits by low income farmers.

They also called for such incentives to be extended to the provision of agricultural machinery so that smallholder farmers could also have access to tractors and combine harvesters, among others.

The farmers lamented about the effects of droughts and floods on their activities, saying that some of their crops failed to yield as expected due to these natural phenomena.

They therefore urged government to make available to them drought resistant and high yielding varieties of crops.

The farmers did not mince words in complaining about the negative effects of the activities of Fulani herdsmen on their farming activities.

They said apart from allowing their animals to destroy farmlands, some of the herdsmen also set fire to bushes during the dry season, thereby causing damage to farms and plantations.

They said there was the urgent need for the various assemblies to institute bye-laws to regulate the activities of the herdsmen.

MIDA EXTENDS WATER TO TAMALE RURAL COMMUNITIES

 (Daily Graphic, Jan 14, 2012, page 18)

THE Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) has extended pipe-borne water to five peri-urban communities in the Tamale metropolis under its Rural Water Extension Project.

They are Wamale, Chansezu, Dufaa, Gbabshei and Nanton Zoo. A total of 12 stand pipes have been constructed in these five communities.

One of the stand pipes in the Wamale area has been situated within the premises of the Shekinah Clinic, a clinic that offers services to the poor in Tamale and beyond at no fee.

During a short ceremony to hand over the facility to the clinic, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Tamale, Alhaji Abdulai Haruna Friday said the water extension project was implemented by MiDA in partnership with the assembly at the cost of US$366,000.

He explained that the assembly had chosen to situate one of the stand pipes on the premises of the Shekinah clinic because the services being rendered by Dr David Abdulai, who is the founder of Shekinah Clinic, were so crucial to the welfare of the poor in society.

“Dr Abdulai and his team are sacrificing to make life better for the poor by bringing healthcare to the doorstep of poor Ghanaians,” he stated, adding that Shekinah Clinic is a shining example of what each of us can do to support our society.

For his part, Dr Abdulai said the extension of pipe borne water to the clinic would supplement the efforts that had been made earlier to ensure regular water supply at the clinic.

He said the clinic relies on a water system that sources fresh water from a nearby dam, treats the water, and stores it in a reservoir for use by the clinic.

Dr Abdulai reiterated the fact that services provided at the clinic are absolutely for free and aimed primarily at the poor and destitute, stressing “we depend unconditionally on divine providence.

He took the MCE on an inspection of facilities at the clinic, and explained that many of the things were provided by benevolent individuals and institutions.

He noted that apart from the clinic itself, other facilities located on the premises include residential facilities, some of which were provided by the MP for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu and others through communal labour.

The assembly man for the Wamale electoral area, Mr Ibrahim Abudu commended MiDA and the assembly for extending pipe-borne water to his community, adding that the people would no more depend on polluted dams.

He also made a passionate appeal to benevolent institutions and the business community to extend a hand of support to the Shekinah clinic because the institution was contributing significantly to the health of the people in Tamale.

Alhaji Friday later presented a number of assorted items to Dr Abdulai for use by beneficiaries of the clinic. The items, which were donated by the assembly, comprise four bales of used clothing, 20 basins and 50 mats.

MORE FEMALES ADMITTED TO HEALTH INSTITUTIONS IN NR

(Daily Graphic, Jan 14, 2012, page 11)

NINE hundred and sixteen students, mainly females, were admitted to health training institutions in the Northern Region during the 2011/12 academic year to pursue various health related programmes.

Of the number, 153 were admitted to the Nurses and Midwifery Training School in Tamale, whiles 105 students were admitted to the Community Health Nurses Training School in Tamale.

The School of Hygiene, also in Tamale, admitted 100 students and the remaining 558 were admitted to Health Assistants Training Schools (HATS) situated in Damongo, Yendi, Nalerigu and Kpandai.

This came to light during the 3rd Joint Matriculation Ceremony of the seven health training institutions located in the Northern Region.

The function was held on the theme: “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the role of the nurse and environmental health trainee.”

Delivering a statement on behalf of the principals of the seven training institutions, Mr Alfred Assibi, who is the Principal for School of Hygiene, said the training institutions were bedevilled with a number of challenges hindering the training process.

Key among these setbacks, he mentioned, are poor infrastructure, lack of accommodation facilities, limited teaching and learning materials and dwindling financial support from the government.

He also mentioned that the region had only a few clinical sites and this had resulted in a situation where these sites get congested when the students are sent on clinical practice.

Mr Assibi said when there is congestion, the teaching and learning process is hindered because the preceptors are unable to guide all the students and there is lack of space for free movement.

He also noted that apart from congestion, the clinical sites were also poorly equipped.

Mr Thomas Tawiah, who spoke on behalf of the Regional Director of Health, said the health directorate was concerned about the situation where some students refuse postings to rural health facilities.

He said this situation was regrettable, noting that it was in the rural areas that their services were more needed.

Mr Tawiah said there had been suggestions from some people that health trainees who go on clinical practice should be reshuffled regularly so that those in the cities would also go to the rural areas and vice versa.

He also noted that there was the need for health training institutions to introduce quality assurance and customer care into the school curriculum so as to churn out graduates who would approach their job with professionalism and treat clients with respect.

CREATE SPECIAL CORRIDORS FOR HERDSMEN

(Daily Graphic, Jan 13, 2012, back page)

THE Northern Cereal Growers, Processors and Marketers Association has appealed to the government to create special corridors and entry points for use by Fulani herdsmen and their cattle.

The group, which comprises farmers and dealers of rice, maize, millet and other cereal crops, noted that such a move would help bring a stop to the current situation where the herdsmen operate haphazardly and dangerously, sometimes causing damage to farms, water bodies and other vegetated areas.

According to a press statement, signed by the Chairman of the association, Mr Abdul-Rahaman Alhassan, the group undertook a study to ascertain how the activities of Fulani herdsmen were impacting on the northern cereal industry.

The study, which was sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, was aimed at forming the basis for an advocacy action to address the menace of Fulani herdsmen.

The research, as contained in the statement, found that the cereal industry served as a source of livelihood for over 60 per cent of farmers in the Northern Region and was dominated by males.

It revealed that over 50 per cent of the cereal farmers did not have any form of relationship with the herdsmen and most of them had experienced some form of destruction on their farms by animals shepherded by the herdsmen.

“However, 42 per cent of the livestock farmers and traders admitted that they have a cordial relationship with the Fulani herdsmen because they supply them with healthy and relatively cheaper animals,” the statement read.

The study also found that apart from failing to control their cattle from causing destruction to maize, rice, millet and guinea corn farms, the Fulani herdsmen also engage in cattle rustling, bush burning and illicit cutting of trees.

It said the herdsmen were also a threat to the environment because their animals engage in over-grazing and the compacting of lands leading to erosion.

According to the study, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol on Free Movement of Goods and People hindered the strict enforcement of the immigration law because authorities tread cautiously when dealing with Fulani herdsmen.

It concluded that the Regional Security Council lacked the necessary personnel and logistics to regulate the influx of Fulani herdsmen who use unapproved routes to enter the country.

In addition to creating corridors, the group also suggested the establishment of camps to check the activities of Fulani herdsmen and the registration of Fulani herdsmen.

WEST MAMPRUSI ASSEMBLY FORMS FIRE VOLUNTEER SQUAD

(Daily Graphic, Jan 12, 2012, page 20)

THE West Mamprusi District Assembly has constituted an eighty-member fire volunteer squad to check bush fires that are threatening to ravage farms and vegetations in Mishio and Zua, two farming communities in the district.

Each year, during the dry season, fires are set to vegetations, mostly by hunters who are in pursuit of rodents. In the process, these fires cause damage to farms and large plantations, thereby resulting in a huge loss to the farmers.

The formation of fire control volunteer squads is therefore intended to address the menace of bush fires as these volunteers have been tasked to police the area to ensure non-burning and also put a stop to fires that have already been started.

With technical support from the Ghana National Fire Service, the volunteers underwent a six-day training programme in wildfire control, including practical lessons, such as the creation of fire belts and military drilling exercise in response to fire outbreaks.

They were later presented with fire fighting equipment namely Wellington boots, protective clothing, cutlasses and hand gloves.

The institution of the fire volunteer squad forms part of the implementation of a project intended to mitigate the effects of climate change in parts of the West Mamprusi district.

The project, christened ‘Fighting climate change through reforestation’, is being funded by the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), a German-based foundation and implemented in partnership with the assembly.

At the end of the training programme, the Co-ordinator of the project, Mr Issifu Sulemana said the fire volunteer squad would seek to protect the area from any fires, adding that it would be senseless to plant trees and allow fires to destroy them.

He noted that preventing bush fires is everyone’s business and therefore urged the entire community to join hands with the eighty volunteers to control bushfires in their communities.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for West Mamprusi, Mr Adam Yussif cautioned the inhabitants of the two communities not to start any fires to the bushes because we are in the peak of the dry season and therefore any fire could get out of hand and cause damage to farms.

He urged the fire volunteers to use the knowledge, skills and the equipment acquired to manage and adequately control wild fires in their various communities.

The DCE also entreated the two communities not to farm close to the banks of the Volta River, but to endeavour to pay attention to the trees planted along their part of the Volta River banks in order to give it maximum protection since their livelihoods were directly connected to the river.

The chief of Zua, Zua-Naa thanked the assembly, the HSF and their partners for their immense support to the two communities and reiterated their commitment in ensuring that bush fires are actually controlled in their various communities.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UNIT DOES NOT DESTROY RELATIONSHIPS - DSP TETTEH

(Daily Graphic, Jan 12, 2012, page 18)

DSP Tetteh

MANY victims of domestic violence in Tamale and other parts of the Northern Region feel reluctant to seek redress at the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) due to the fear of causing a break up of their relationships.

This fear is fuelled by the perception among many people that when perpetrators of domestic abuse are penalized for their acts, it tends to sour the existing bond between the offenders and their victims, as well as other close family and friends.

It is not surprising, therefore, to see a woman or man remaining in an abusive relationship just to protect his or her marriage or family ties.

However, the Northern Regional Co-ordinator of DOVVSU, DSP Stephen Anane Boye Tetteh, dispels the notion that DOVVSU destroys relationships.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in his office in Tamale, DSP Tetteh noted that what many people did not know was that DOVVSU’s mandate had both criminal and social support dimensions.

He pointed out that whiles the criminal aspect involves the prosecution of perpetrators of domestic abuse, the social support dimension focuses on helping create a safe and violent-free environment for domestic relationships to thrive.

DSP Tetteh explained that one way DOVVSU does this is by counselling both abusers and those abused to co-exist cordially in an atmosphere devoid of abuse.

He said, for instance, that when a parent is reported to the unit for neglecting his or her responsibilities to the child, DOVVSU does not proceed straight away to arrest the parent, arraign him or her and put the person behind bars.

“What we do is that we get this irresponsible parent to commit to fulfil his or her parental responsibilities and to avoid any future breaches of the law,” he noted.

DSP Tetteh said the unit had, on many occasions, counselled couples whose relationships had become sour due to one or several incidents of abuse and these couples resolved, henceforth, to stay together, although they had initially sworn to stay apart.

“DOVVSU works to promote reconciliation among people who are in domestic relationships. We let them see the effects of violence in the domestic set up and the need to shun violence of all forms,” he stated further.

DSP Tetteh noted that DOVVSU was not established solely for the police, since other institutions were needed to help pursue the social support dimension.

He said apart from the police, the unit had personnel from the social welfare department and other professionals, including psychologists.

Unfortunately, the apathy towards DOVVSU is one the factors that has led to the unit recording few cases in the Northern Region, even though many people are abused in their homes, workplaces and other domestic set ups regularly.

In 2010, the region recorded only a single reported case of exposing a child to harm and another single case of actually causing harm.

Twenty-two (22) of its cases constituted defilement, whiles 21 were classified as rape.

In a region where forced marriage is very rife in many rural communities, only five cases of compulsion of marriage were reported at DOVVSU. This is surely not the reality on the ground.

As expected, non-maintenance cases were among the highest as 40 of these cases were reported.

DSP Tetteh said the unit would intensify its sensitisation campaigns to get more victims to come out of their shelves and seek assistance, stressing that “DOVVSU does not destroy relationships.”