Newly-approved District Chief Executive for Sekyere Afram Plains in the Ashanti Region says government will pursue programs to make the area the food basket of the region.

Donkor Fuseini received unanimous endorsement from assembly members in a vote to confirm him at Drobonso.

He says the area, with its vast land and people, has the potential to become an infrastructural and agricultural hub.

Mr. Fuseini told Nhyira News, shortly after all 13 members approved his nomination;

The newly-created district remains one of the remotest, with poor road network.

There is no electricity, mobile phone connection and, more critically, potable water, as residents in some communities share water resources with cattle.

Farmers have to either send their produce to Kumawu-Woraso or Kumasi to market their produce.

Despite long distance to markets, farmers continue to cultivate large quantities of maize, cassava, plantain, cashew, among others.

The creation of the district has been hailed as catalyst to catapult the area which until now has been cut off from other parts of the region.

In the midst of these challenges, Mr. Fuseini says government made no mistake in its creation of the district.

“It looks as if we have nothing to boast of but we have the manpower; we have the land and we have the determination to succeed. We are agro-based people in this particular area. Our major priority is to empower our farmers in this particular district by building markets that they can sell their produce,”Mr. Fuseini said.

According to him, the district assembly will seek support from foreign donor agencies for farmer-groups to improve farming activities in the area. This he believes will empower the farmers.

“To be able to make the farmer earn a reasonable living for his sweats, we are going to empower them economically; we organize our farmers into corporative groups so that they can be able to access loans and various incentives that can empower them at their various farms,” he explained.

Regional Deputy Minister, Samuel Adusei, also talked about government’s planned action to raise the living standard of the people.

“Government is aware and understands challenges [being] faced by people in deprived areas like this one. This explains why the district was created to ensure equity in distribution of development. The Regional Coordinating Council is aware of this, and will ensure projects are distributed evenly”. Mr Adusei explained.

Myjoyonline.com