The World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with the MTN Ghana have registered farmers in selected communities in the Sissala West District with each of them expected to receive GH?3,900.00 to increase food production.

The WFP are also to undertake the Songhai Agriculture Initiative project to create jobs for the people in the district.

The WFP project formed part of efforts to contain the influx of Burkinabes in the district, Madam Aisha Imoru Batong, the District Chief Executive of the Sissala West District announced at the fourth session of the assembly held in Gwollu.

She appealed to the assembly members to educate farmers on the implementation of the interventions as it would help them expand their farms and produce sufficient food for domestic consumption and for export to earn more foreign exchange to improve the economy.

Madam Batong announced that as part of efforts to complement WFP interventions, the assembly had launched a District-Wide One Tree, One Household project to help mitigate the negative impact of climate change.

The Forestry Commission was supporting, the initiative with the provision of seedlings to plant more trees to green the area and reverse the effects of climate change of recent times.

She encouraged residents to embrace the project and ensure seedlings planted survived to increase the tree population to protect the ecosystem.

Talking about finances, she said the assembly had received GH?204,361.83 as its share of the fourth quarter of the District Assemblies Common Fund for 2022, while Internally Generated Fund for 2023 stood at GH?60,781.00.

She appealed to the assembly members to intensify education in the communities to encourage the people to pay their taxes regularly to raise more revenue to undertake development projects.

Madam Batong said the assembly had also received 229 laptop computers from the Ministry of Education, which were distributed to Basic School Teachers, while Vibrant Villages, a non-governmental organisation also donated 52 dual desks to basic schools in the area.

On security, she said the occurrences of violent extremists and the influx of Fulani Herdsmen and their cattle into the district from neighbouring Burkina Faso on daily basis was threatening the people in the area and the Ghana Police Service had deployed 33 Units and provided with vehicles and motorbikes to counter any threat of terrorism.

Source: Ghana News Agency