The nation’s farmers will be honored today to mark the 33rd edition of the National Farmers’ Day at the Kumasi Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
The award ceremony which is happening under the theme, “Farming for Food and Jobs” is said to award a total of 67 gallant farmers across the various Agricultural sectors nationwide.
While the regional events is merged with the national ceremony in the Ashanti Region, the varoius 216 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies will held theirs separately.
The President and his Vice, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Alhaji Dr. Mawumudu Bawumia respectively are going to be the guests of honour for the event.
Rite FM in an interview with the 2009 award winner who double as the chairman for National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association of Ghana, Davies Narh Korboe revealed that today’s overall best farmer is going to take home $100,000.00, which he/she is expected to use to embark on Agriculture related developmental project.
Call For Support
The 33rd National Farmer’s Day was launched on August 16 with sponsorship packages for corporate institutions to support the celebrations.
A total of fourteen corporate institutions and individuals have donated GHC 100,000.00 to the Fisheries Ministry towards this year’s farmers’ day celebration.
Notable among them are National Investment Bank, Cash Oil Company Limited, Micheal Star Company, Seam Oil Company Limited, but not leaving Sonite Ghana Limited. Other bodies include Value Concern, Nii Ayitey Quaye (BOSSGIE), Danny Nii Ayitey Quaye, Blue Dolphine and Freezing Aksafi Fisheries Limited
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has also received more donations from some companies in the form of cash and agriculture inputs towards this year’s National Farmers Day celebration.
The companies were; Agrimat, CDH Financial Holdings, Multivet, the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC), World Coverand Crocodile Machetes.
The rest were New Okaff Industries, Cosmos Organic life, Famous House Enterprise, AgriSeed, Qualiplast, MacroFertile Ghana, West African AgroTech Company, Japan Motors, CFAO Ghana Limited, and Omni Fert Limited.
CDH Commodities Limited, Dizengoff Ghana, and the International Fertilizer Development Centre supported the Ministry with GH¢10,000.00 each to appreciate the hard work of Ghanaian farmers.
Multivet Ghana Limited, who are into veterinary pharmaceuticals and agro chemicals, donated 15 Devinish – a premix concentrate used for laying of beds, ten cartons of multilik minerals while Crocodile Machetes Ghana Limited presented various cartons of their brands worth GH¢10,000.00.
World Cover also presented an amount of GH¢5,000.00 and Quali Plast presented plastic wares worth GH¢15,000.00, while Agri Seed Limited presented fertilisers and chemicals worth GH¢13,275.00 and Macro Fertile Ghana donated fertilisers at a value of GH¢5,000.00.
Origin of Farmers’ Day
“Farmers’ Day”, which began 32 years ago, was instituted by the Government in 1985 in recognition of the vital role farmers and fishers play in the economy especially the highly commendable output of farmers and fishermen in 1984.
This was after the bad agricultural years of 1982 and 1983.
Between 1982 and 1984, the country suffered a serious drought which can never be compared to any in the country’s history.
This was due to devastating bushfires in 1984, which reduced the land bare and dry, with very little green vegetation.
The development caused severe food shortage, as cocoa farms and food crops were destroyed. To make matters worse, more than one million Ghanaians in 1983, who travelled to Nigeria to seek greener pastures were chased out of Nigeria to return to their home country.
However, in 1984, Ghanaians had some sort of relief after the National Mobilisation Squads, Mobisquads for short, emerged to salvage the situation.
The Mobisquads cleared the farms and replanted the cocoa trees. They also constructed classroom blocks, roads, toilets and many others.
Thus, in 1984, the National Mobilisation Programme (NMP), under the chairmanship of Commodore Steve Obimpeh, and the Ghana Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives (GHAFACOOPS), under Togbe Sasraku, organised a programme to celebrate the gallant role of farmers in reviving the country’s Agric sector through various activities which ended the famine and long drought.
In December of 1986, farmers from all over the country converged at Osino in the Eastern Region, to mark the first National Farmers’ Day celebrations, with Captain Kojo Tsikata (retd) being the guest speaker.
The package to the first best farmer was made up of two Machetes, a pair of Wellington boots and a preset radio. Other farmers received honours from the state, including cutlasses, sacks, bicycles and boots.
The Day has however transformed from year to year, moving from bicycle to power tillers to tractors, to pick-ups and presently to a 3-bedroom house since 2002.
However, the overall winner for toady’s awards shall take home $100, 00.00
Source: Omanba Kodwo Boafo/ritefmonline.org
