Members of the Concerned Farmers Association have threatened to demonstrate at Tamale on National Farmers’ Day which falls on Friday, 7 December 2018 to draw attention to what they describe as marginalisation of Ghanaian farmers.
The group is calling on government to restructure of National Farmers’ Day celebration. They also want the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen to be in charge of all agricultural related activities, programmes and policies in the country.
This year’s Farmers’ Day celebration which marks the 34th edition is on the theme: ‘Agriculture, moving Ghana Beyond Aid’.
Speaking to Class News ahead of the celebration, President of the Cocoa Farmers Association, Nana Opambour Bonsu said farmers are ready to demonstrate on Friday.
He said: “The farmers are ready to demonstrate and this demonstration has never happened in the history of Ghana that is why I’m advising the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, we the farmers brought him to become the president, we are telling him to stay at the Flagstaff House, he doesn’t need to come because we have planned to demonstrate and we have our right to demonstrate…we are putting pressure on government to make sure that Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen take the mandate of agriculture in this country.”
Meanwhile, the General Secretary of General Agriculture Workers Union, Edward Kariweh has urged government to undertake a comprehensive review of the way the Farmers’ Day celebration is organised.
He said: “The Farmers’ Day celebration has been on for over 30 years now and if you look at the activities that we’ve been carrying out, you can say with certainty that there is the need for a comprehensive review of the way Farmer’s Day celebration is being organised in this country.
“You can see that it is an annual ritual of giving farmers some items but there are fundamental challenges facing the farmers which bothers on production, post-harvest losses, which bother on market which have not been addressed…”
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