The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the Department of Food and Agriculture in Dormaa Central Municipality has constructed four earth ponds for the production of over 8,800 catfish and tilapia under government's Aquaculture for Food and Jobs flagship programme.

The Department has also taken delivery of 29 bags of feed from government to be given to farmers free of charge for the production of fingerlings.

The hatchery which comprises of 4, 800 catfish and 4,000 tilapia is situated at Dormaa Senior High School to promote learning among the students as well as members of the public interested in the business.

He explained that due diligence was done in selecting the School to host the hatchery, adding other factors like suitable land and human resource for its management was also considered, stressing "it would meet academic needs of students pursuing agriculture at the School, and would help whip up their interest in aquaculture".

Mr Charles Aboyella, Dormaa Municipal Director, Department of Food and Agriculture said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Dormaa Ahenkro in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region.

"The modern fish hatchery with four concrete tanks is designed to produce fingerlings for the farmers in the Bono Region," he stated.

The Municipal Director of Food and Agriculture stated that "under the Planting for Food and Jobs programme the Municipality received over 2,962 metric tonnes of fertiliser subsidy and improved seeds including maize and rice totalling 2017 kilogrammes for the 2020 season".

He added that with the assistance of the Municipal Assembly over 113,000 cashew seedlings were distributed to 2120 farmers, stressing since 2018 a total of over 250,000 cashew and coffee seedlings have been planted under the Tree Crop project, a government initiative promoting diversification of rural agriculture to reduce over-reliance on annual crop.

Mr Aboyella challenged the youth to take advantage of the business opportunity presented by the hatchery and create employment for themselves in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

He expressed appreciation to the farmers for surmounting challenges posed by COVID-19 to continue undertaking agriculture activities that persistently supply the nation with food.