Agric. officers attend workshop

The Akuapem South Municipal Director of Agriculture, has called on agricultural officers to improve on food and product safety by enhancing their technical capabilities to face the emerging challenges of pest and agro-chemical management. Mr Kwaku Minta Fordjour gave the advice when he opened a three-day workshop at Shai Hills in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday for 46 agriculturists. The participants were drawn from the Greater Accra, Central, Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra regions to build their technical capacity to be abreast of the international agricultural policy on standards. The workshop is being funded by Export Marketing Quality Awareness Project, which was facilitated by Aden Agricultural and Horticultural Consultancy Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA). The participants are being educated on the treating of the new mealay pests that attacks pawpaw, pineapples and other crops. Mr Mawuli Agboka, Project Co-ordinator of the Export Marketing and Quality Awareness project said the workshop would help people interested in exporting food crops to learn about food safety. The workshop would also offer personnel of MOFA the competency to assist farmers in the processing of food and other farming products like pineapple and pawpaw for export. Mr Agboka said the training would also help farmers to increase their farm produce and support the country to earn more foreign exchange for development.