Rice and vegetable farmers at Ohiamaadwen in the Shama District, have appealed to the government to establish a Mechanization Centre to boost agricultural activities in the area. The farmers, who farm on a large scale, say they are in dire need of farm implements such as combined harvesters, tractors and power tillers for commercial farming to boost their livelihoods. Mr Jacob Ayera, Secretary to the Ohiamaadwen Rice Farmers Association made the appeal during a tour of journalists of their-150-acre farmlands being cultivated by 45 farmers at Ohiamaadwen in the Western Region. He said the farmers who had been in farming since 1983 used manpower to do their farming activities. Mr Ayera said the farmers at times hired combined harvesters from the Volta Region and Asutuare at the cost of GHc10,000 before they could harvest their produce. The Secretary said the Association had trained farmers from Kamgbunli in the Ellembelle District and was in dire need of assistance from the government to stand on its feet . Mr Ayera said the Shama District was the food basket of Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis and appealed to the government to prioritize the concerns of rice farmers to produce more rice and vegetables to feed people in the metropolis. Source: Ghana News Agency