Upper Manya Krobo Municipal distributes Seedlings to 313 Farmers
The PERD program is a decentralized Nationwide Tree Crop Program, to promote rural Agricultural economic growth and improve household incomes of rural farmers through the provision of certified improved seedlings.
Joana Somiah 
The Upper Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), has distributed thirty thousand (30,000) Oil Palm and mango seedlings to three hundred and thirteen (313) crop farmers in the Municipality at Asesewa in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The seedlings comprise twenty thousand (20,000) oil palm seedlings, donated by the Minerals Commission to the assembly, and Ten thousand (10,000) mango seedlings were from Tree Crops Development Authority, to be given out to the interested farmers freely.
The Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) program initiative, is one of the government’s flagship programs implemented to help and create more employment and purposely to alleviate poverty amongst farmers.
The PERD program is a decentralized Nationwide Tree Crop Program, to promote rural Agricultural economic growth and improve household incomes of rural farmers through the provision of certified improved seedlings, and extension services, as well as business support, and regulatory mechanisms.
It is a program being implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Decentralization.
Handing over the seedlings to the farmers, the District Director for the Department of Agriculture, Hilary Alagbo opined, the gesture is to ensure that food crop farmers are always engaged in the business all year round, to make additional income.
He encouraged, the beneficiaries to take advantage of the free seedlings, plant and nurture them to mature on its expected time.
Mr Alagbo advised the farmers to work closely with the Agric Extension Officers in their respective communities for the necessary technical support to fight out pests and to also control diseases and improve mechanisms to increases yield.
Mr Alagbo showed his unhappiness about how some people take advantage of the free program but decline to use the seedlings for their intended purposes.
William Ofori Akwaboa, Eastern Regional Correspondent
