Ayekoo To Our Farmers And Fishermen; 78 To Be Honoured
About 78 farmers and fishermen will be honoured today at the 31st National Farmers Day celebration in Bolgatanga, the Upper East regional capital.
The President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, is expected to grace the occasion.
Other dignitaries, including Members of Parliament (MPs), ministers of state and other government officials will also participate in the event. This year’s event, which is on the theme: “Transform Ghana: Invest in Agriculture,” has a focus on getting the private sector to invest in the agriculture sector to transform the country’s rural economies and halt rural-urban migration.
Preparation
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mr Nelson Akatey, said all was set for the event at the Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School.
He said as part of the process for the selection of award winners, every region was given the opportunity to nominate three distinguished farmers for the awards.
He said the selected awardees had been in Bolgatanga for almost a week and had been participating in a number of activities lined up as part of the celebration.
Award Categories
Apart from the national best farmer, the first and second runners–up, there will also be awards for the national best fisherman and other categories in crops, agribusiness, agricultural extension and research institutions.
“There will be two main categories for the awards, including a competitive category which comprises the national best and the runner-up awards while the non-competitive category comprises the awards for the various crops,” said Mr Akatey.
There would also be an award category for the physically challenged and selected schools.
Background
In 1985, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government— under Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings instituted the National Farmer’s Day to honour hard-working farmers and fishermen of the country.
The day is celebrated every first Friday in December and it is observed as a statutory public holiday.
Apart from the national celebration where farmers are rewarded, the day is simultaneously celebrated in the regions and districts.
Osino in the Eastern Region hosted the maiden edition of the event on Friday, December 5, 1985.
On the maiden Farmer’s Day, a bicycle was presented as the highest prize to the best farmer.
Since then, the awards have progressively improved and in recent times, the award winners have been receiving prizes such as a three-bedroom house, double cabin air-conditioned pick-ups and television sets, among other attractive prizes.
It is also marked with a week-long celebration, the climax falling on the first Friday of December as compared to the initial celebrations which were a one-day event.
Last year, a farmer from Tano South District of the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr George Asamoah Amankwah, was adjudged the National Best Farmer.
He received a three bedroom fully furnished house donated by the Agricultural Development Bank.
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