Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, has launched the 36th edition of the Farmers Day celebration.
The Farmers Day celebration is an annual event aimed at recognizing and honoring the hardworks of Ghanaian farmers.
The Celebration started in 1985 and has over the years been used to draw attention to the contributions of farmers towards Ghana’s socio-economic development.
This year’s celebration is slated for November 6, 2020 at Techiman, the capital of tg Bono East Region under the theme: “Agribusiness Development under COVID 19 – Opportunities and Challenges.”
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, the minister said the theme for this year highlights the new orientation for all actors along the agricultural value chain.
According to her,
Ghana’s agriculture is now transforming from subsistence and primary production to one of value addition and agribusiness, saying “Simply what this implies is that emphasis and value will also be placed on all activities such as transportation, marketing, distribution, processing and storage.”
She stated that “the expected benefits will include massive investment in the sector, job creation, market expansion, competitiveness of goods and services and a new spirit of business entrepreneurship for agriculture.”
The challenges and opportunities presented by the onset of the covid-19 pandemic reinforces government’s priority placed on the agriculture sector, she said, adding that “for us in agriculture sector including fisheries, we are very excited because we are assured that our farmers and fishers can continue to go about their means of livelihood with the support of government and its partners even in times of emergencies.”
According to her, President Akufo-Addo has in the course of the year commissioned Green House Villages at Bawjiase, Akomadan and Dawhenya in the Central, Greater Accra and Ashanti regions respectively.
“These are designed to boost the production of high value vegetables in the country and are projected that the country could reap earnings of about $1billion from vegetable exports by the next six to seven years.”
“We have also witnessed the launch of the livestock module of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) known as Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ) which seeks to revamp the livestock subsector. Under the mechanisation module 6,270 units of agriculture machinery and equipment had been supplied.”
In addition, 300 global multi-purpose mini-tractors and 220 cabrio compact tractors have been imported to support farming activities to help transform farming from purely subsistence to agribusiness, she said.
Critically, government is also giving meaningful expression to its agenda to industrialize by facilitating the construction of agro industries under its One District One Factory programme, she indicated.
She noted that food surpluses have been recorded on a yearly basis since 2017 with the attendant effect on food price inflation.
Extension services have been strengthened with the recruitment of 2,700 Agricultural Extension Agents, the provision of motor vehicles and introduction of E-agriculture.
The lessons of COVID-19 have created a new sense of awareness about building strong food systems that ensures resilience and overdependence on food imports.
At the inception of the pandemic, the panic that disrupted economic activities tested Ghana’s resilience and food security vulnerability. The country’s ability to respond to the challenge has undoubtedly vindicated the current priority placed on agriculture.
“Our farmers and fishers must remain assured that government will continue to support agriculture and make it a thriving, rewarding and attractive business.
This is not mere rhetoric but one that is backed by a strategic framework that is guiding the government’s medium to long term development agenda in the agricultural sector,” she stated.
“We continue to appreciate the efforts of our partners for their support in the annual Farmers’ Day Celebration and trust this year they will do better to enable us provide befitting awards to our farmers and fishers.”
This year’s event has sponsorship from ADB and other corporate bodies.
There are five sponsorship categories for this year namely
Platinum sponsors which goes with Ghc 100,000 package and above;
Gold sponsors with package from Ghc 75,000 to Ghc 99,000,
Silver sponsors from Ghc 50,000 to Ghc 75,000, among others.
By Melvin Tarlue