The Northern Regional Coordinating Director, Alhaji Alhassan Issahaku on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister, held briefings with the Nebraska's Senator, Ken Schilz at the Northern Regional Coordinating Council, in Tamale.
In his opening remarks, Alhaji Issahaku commended the Senator for visiting the Northern Region to engage with the region's MMDCEs and the friendly bilateral connections that exist between Ghana and the United States of America.
Alhaji Issahaku, briefed the Senator about the land profile of the Northern Region and indicated that the region is an agrarian based land of which the population is about 2.4 million and the entire region is made up of 16 regions, one Metropolitan Assembly, four Municipal Assemblies and eleven District Assemblies.
He furthered reiterated that about 72% of the people are farmers with 85% being peasant farmers as a result of lack of resources to enter into large scale farming.
On his Part, the Senator thanked the Chief Director for the warm reception and indicated that the soil in the Northern Region and that of the Nebraska State shares similarity and that a lot can be learnt from each other and that he was in the region purposely to strengthen the bilateral relations that existed and continues to exist between Ghana and America.
The visit to the region was to identify and establish a path way for collaborations, investment trainings and knowledge sharing exchange programme, between Ghana and the United State of Nebraska with a major focus on Agriculture (Agro Processing, Value Addition, Live Stock), energy, lands and natural resources sector respectively.
The Regional director of Agriculture, Madam Hawa informed the Senator that the farmers in the region were doing well except that the tools and skills were not enough and further mentioned that crops such as maize, rice, soya beans, yam, cowpea, peanut, animal rearing were all grown in the region.
She further mentioned some challenges faced by the farmers such as, lack of processing machines, year-round water, market for the crops.
The stakeholders also contributed their ideas and added that skills were actually needed in the farming industry including irrigation dams and markets for the produces.
