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President John Dramani Mahama celebrated World Food Day on a farm in the Brong Ahafo Region yesterday, sending a strong message to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to halt the practice of converting farmlands into real estate. Speaking at United Conglomerated Farms at Branam near Wenchi to mark the day, he said the practice, which was a recipe for impoverishing people in the farming communities, could also result in food shortages in the country. This year�s World Food Day was dedicated to the small-holder farmer. United Conglomerated Farms, a joint venture between a group of Ghanaians, currently has 249.2 hectares of maize under cultivation. It also has more than 10,000 acres of arable land available for cultivation. While emphasising the need for the nation to protect its farming assets, the President said �the protection and improvement of all basic agricultural and farming assets is one sure way of driving a successful agricultural revolution�. He also touched on the role of agriculture in the national transformation agenda, saying that was amply highlighted in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament this year. President Mahama observed that success in agriculture would have a direct positive impact on Ghana�s economy. Apart from ensuring food security, he said, agricultural improvement could reduce food imports and save the nation huge sums in foreign exchange. Ghana, the President indicated, had comparative advantage in the production of many food items that were currently imported. �That was why the government is putting more resources into agriculture to ensure that maximum benefits are realised from the sector,� he said. �We are now in a period when we can embark on large and medium-scale food production systems to feed ourselves and provide employment to transform our rural communities, as well as have surpluses for export,� he said. He praised the management of the farms for their foresight, adding, �With proper support services from the financial and technical institutions, coupled with good management practices, this farm has a great potential for food production for domestic consumption and export.� Role of the banks President Mahama said the Agricultural Development Bank, the National Investment Bank and the GCB Bank had, in the past, played some laudable roles to promote farming in the country. There was, therefore, the need for the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to explore ways to support those banks against risks. The BoG, he said, should also study the situation and come up with the appropriate financial policy and programme of guarantees that would encourage the commercial banks and financial institutions to support agricultural and farming enterprises in Ghana. Priority He said one top priority of his government in the food production sector was to bridge the existing gap between actual and potential farm yields through the elimination of the constraints which were responsible for that gap. The priority given to rice production, he said, had resulted in increased production. Director of the farms The Director of the farms, Dr Francis Dakura, said in spite of the initial challenges they faced, management was able to craft strategies that had seen the establishment growing. He commended the President for his commitment to agricultural development and for his visit to the farms.