Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto
The 35th annual National Farmers’ Day celebration is set today at the Jubilee Park in Ho in the Volta Region.
In attendance will be President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the gurus in the agric sector led by the sector minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
This year’s anniversary is being held on the theme: “Enhancing Small Scale Agriculture towards Agribusiness Development.”
The theme, according to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, was chosen to reflect the important role of the agricultural sector to the economic development of the country and to re-emphasise the sector’s contribution to all the other sectors of the economy.
Today’s event climaxes an eight-day long Agricultural Fair and other activities which have preceded Farmers’ Day since 2017 to give opportunity to award winners and also demystify new technologies, machinery, research innovations and improvements, and processing of agricultural produce by the various stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
In addition, the eight-day Agricultural Fair offered a business platform for the various stakeholders in and outside the sector to link up and form networks to boost agri-business.
Award Categories
Nationalaward categories for the 35th National Farmers’ will includeBest Farmer, Best Livestock Farmer, Best Crop Farmer, Best Youth Farmer, Best Female Farmer, Best Physically Challenged Farmer, andBest Second Cycle School in Practical Agriculture.
Others are First Runner-up Best Farmer, Second Runner-up Best Farmer, Best Agro Processor, Best Tree Crop Farmer, Best Fisher, Best Maize Quality Farmer, Best Digital Farmer, Best Inland Fisher, Best Marine Fisher and Best Acquaculturist.
The rest are Best Fish Processor, Best Cocoa Farmer, Best Shea Nut Picker, Best Coffee Farmer, Most Enterprising Female Cocoa Farmer, Most Promising Young Cocoa Farmer and Agriculture Researcher.
The Regional Awards categories areRegional Best Farmer, First Runner-up Regional, Second Runner-up, Best Fisher and Best Agric Extension Agent.
For the District level, the categories includeFirst Runner-up District Best Farmer, District Crop Farmer, Best Fish Farmer, Best Livestock Farmer, Agriculture Extension Agent and Physically Challenged.
By Nana Kwasi