PERD upsurge in enrollment- Director of Agriculture, Western North
According to the Western North Regional Director of Agriculture, the government's flagship programmes have seen an upsurge in enrollment.
Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor 
The Western Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr. W.H. Fordjour has revealed that the government's flagship programme in Agriculture, Planting for Export and Rural Development( PERD) has seen an upsurge in the quantum of both beneficiaries and seedlings supplied.
He made the disclosure on Monday, October 31,2022 at Setwi Wiawso within the Western North Region.
Dr. Fordjour was addressing a gathering of stakeholders in the Agricultural sector explaining how the project has upscaled from 2019 to 2022.
Explaining further, he said the number of seedlings of oil palm, coconut, coffee and rubber that have been supplied so far to farmers indicated that the holds great future prospects
According to him, out of a total of 370,238 seedlings of oil palm supplied, 4,132 males and 1,499 females benefited respectively.
For coconut, he said, 1,633 males and 370 females benefited from a total 155,867 seedlings of coconut seedlings supplied.
The Western Regional Director of Agriculture further said out of a total of 29,043 seedlings of coffee supplied to beneficiaries, 17 of the number were males while 11 were females.
In all, a total of 5,793 males and 1,883 females have benefited from the supply of seedlings meant for planting for Export and Rural Development(PERD) between the period of 2019 to 2022.
On Rearing for Food and Jobs(RFJ), he said the government has supplied improved breeds to farmers.
He noted that out of 2,838 cockerels distributed, 184 went to male beneficiaries while 116 were females.
For pigs, he said out of 500 pigs distributed, 75 beneficiaries were males as against 25 been female beneficiaries.
In all, he disclosed that 259 males benefited from the governent's RFJ as against 141 beneficiaries for females.
He however, bemoaned the invasion of FAW, flooding and bad roads as challenges militating against the progress of the project.
According to him, those challenges,when addressed would enable the project to yield the intended dividend.
Report by Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor
