Corporal John Henry Moffatt (right) receiving his award
A 45-year-old dispatch rider with the Accra Central Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, Corporal John Henry Moffatt, has been adjudged the best livestock farmer in the Accra Metropolis at the 36th edition of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Farmers and Fishers’ Day celebration.
Mr. Moffatt, who has since 2016 been rearing goat, pig, and poultry, was awarded 10 drinkers and feeders, assorted veterinary drugs, vegetable seeds and agrochemicals, a knapsack sprayer, spades as well as cutlasses, and a certificate.
Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, in a speech stressed the need for a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive food production system that would stimulate job creation.
“Agriculture until recently has always been the main driver of our national economy and will remain important for years to come, hence it is essential to create awareness and encourage citizens to venture into backyard farming,” he said.
He disclosed that as part of efforts to promote agriculture in the city, the Assembly’s Agricultural Extension workers had been engaging farmers in the metropolis to promote alternative farming such as backyard and home garden practices, adding that the Assembly had begun cultivating vegetables such as lettuces and cabbage on the rooftop of the City Hall.
Metro Director of Food and Agriculture, Dr Charles Edem Etse, said although this year had been extra daunting under COVID-19 conditions, farmers and fishermen continued to work under difficult conditions to put food on the tables of Ghanaians.
“In other words, we want our farmers and fishermen to see their vocation as a business venture. They should approach their vocation with the view to make profits that will lead to development. It also means that all actors in the Value Chain of Agriculture must take advantage of agriculture with the view to make good profits that lead to the development of the family,” he said.