About 1,600 farmers in the Kwahu West Municipality have benefited from government's Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) programme.
Distributing the grafted cocoa and oil palm seedlings to the farmers, Mr Yaw Owusu-Addo, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) said, the assembly raised 70,000 cocoa seedlings and 3,600 oil palm seedlings to be distributed to the farmers to enable them to expand their farms.
He stressed that the various policies and programmes rolled out by government were geared towards the development agenda of the country.
Mr Owusu-Addo said government attaches seriousness to agriculture hence his intervention to ensure that the agricultural sector gets a boost.
He assured that the distribution would not only end and that the beneficiary farmers would be supported technically by the district's agricultural field officers, to ensure successful production of the cocoa and oil palm seedlings in the district.
He said there are plans to create more of the nursery sites in other communities to ensure proximity to the farmers.
The MCE urged farmers in the area to take advantage of the various agricultural interventions and incentives to increase production and improve their livelihoods.
Mr. Owusu- Addo therefore entreated the beneficiary farmers not to hesitate to contact his office for any assistance to ensure that the PERD Programme succeeds.
Mr Seth Yeboah, the Municipal Director of Agriculture, commended government for the initiative and called on the youth to enroll onto the programme to improve their livelihood.
Mr Kweku Busia, who spoke on behalf of the farmers, expressed profound gratitude to the government for the initiative and promised that they would work hard to increase cashew production in the district.