The Agriculture Department of the Nsawam medium Security Prison (Male/Female) needs farm machinery, tools and inputs to expand crop and animal production.
Access to modern machinery and farm inputs will also help the department to produce more crops to supplement inmates’ daily feeding grant of GHC1.8pesewas.
Superintendent Martin Duah, the Officer in-charge of Agriculture at the Male section of Medium Prison made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.
He said with adequate support the Department would be able to produce high-value vegetables, including leeks, cauliflower cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, eggplants, and carrot to supplement the ration of inmate and sell the surplus to sustain the projects.
The Officer said the Prison had over 5,000 acres of land out of which only 200 was under cultivation.
Supt. Duah said the only tractor the facility had was old, with some of its accessories, including tillers, reaching ‘end of life’.
He said they had started a two-acre vegetable farm under irrigation on pilot for the season and needed planters, boots, and cutlasses.
The Officer thanked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for donating a maize thresher to the Prisons under the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme, adding that it had reduced the stress involved in processing maize after harvesting.
“Prior to receiving the thresher, inmates spent days de-husking and shelling maize,” he said.
The Nsawam medium security was built to hold a total of 850 prisoners, but currently, the facility is holding over 3,500 prisoners, with feeding challenges.
