The items included bags of fertiliser, weedicides, wellington boots and matchets.

The beneficiaries included 22 women and 17 male farmers.

Some staff of the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Environmental Health Department were also given wellington boots.

Handing over the items to the Department for Food and Agriculture for onward distribution to the beneficiary farmers, the Municipal Chief Executive for KEEA, Solomon Ebo Appiah, stated that the government was aware of the challenges facing farmers and was committed to working to reduce their production burden.

To this end, he stated that the municipal assembly was working to get tractor services at subsidised cost for farmers across the municipality.

Mr Appiah said the nation's food security depended to a large extent on the ability of its farmers to expand their farms and maximise production.

He gave the assurance that the assembly would collaborate with the Department of Food and Agriculture to continue to give farmers in the municipality the needed materials and technical support to optimise it output.

He challenged the farmers, particularly women and the youth to work harder to justify the support.

The Municipal Agriculture Director for KEEA, Victoria Dansoa Abankwa, cautioned the farmers against selling the items but to use them to improve their farms for better yields and incomes.

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries said the items would reduce their cost of production.

A farmer from Djobor, Beatrice Arthur, a beneficiary of the inputs, said the items were essentials that would save beneficiaries money and time.

"These things make us feel someone is thinking about us and our work in the villages and we are grateful," she stated.

Another farmer, Louis Papa Sam Acquaye, on behalf of the farmers, pledged to use the items to improve food production in the area, saying they had been energised to work harder.