A total of 50 aquaculture trainees in the Agona West Municipality have received fingerlings from the government as start-up to their businesses after undergoing six months training offered under the Aquaculture for food and jobs programme. The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture initiated the programme to create enabling environment for aquaculture farming through innovative mechanism for fishing to enhance economic growth. Each of the 50 trainees received 1,100 fingerlings, six bags of fish feed, and tarpaulin pond at an estimated cost of GHC38,000. They would also be given GHC 600 monthly allowance for six months before its harvest period. Speaking after the presentation, Mr Evans Addison Onomah Coleman, Agona West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) said the Aquaculture for food and jobs programme was an initiative by President Akufo-Addo's government to offer jobs and create wealth for the teeming unemployed youth. He said the programme was first of its kind done in a massive scale. The MCE said the government wanted to create more job avenues for the initiative to enable them to enter fishing to improve their living standards. He said tilapia and catfish were on high demand in global markets, apart from local consumption for nutritious food, and urged the recipients to take care of the programme to benefit others. The MCE hinted that the government would continue to pursue aggressive economic policies such as this to create avenues of jobs and wealth for the youth of this country. Mr Onomah Coleman commended the CEO of R and B Farms, Mr Richard Ekow Quansah for his innovative ideas to collaborate with the government to create huge job opportunities for the teeming youth in the country. Alhaji Gibrine Tanko, Agona West NPP Constituency Chairman said President Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia had demonstrated true determination to alleviate the sufferings among the youth and have created jobs to reduce economic hardship. He said when the Aquaculture for food and jobs programme was launched by the President , many people, especially opposition critics doubted it. He stated that 50 youth in each constituency nationwide had benefited. The Constituency Chairman said the government was poised to create more job opportunities for the people, particularly the youth to be economically empowered to enable them to contribute to the growth of the economy. Mr Razak Daewood , a beneficiary on behalf of his colleagues thanked President Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia, for the opportunity given them to enter such a lucrative venture to enable them to earn decent living. Source: Ghana News Agency