The Municipal Chief Executive Hon. Boye Laryea has lauded the positive impact of government flagship programs on the economic activities of awardees of the 36th edition of the National Farmers Day.
The municipal event, held at Achimota in Accra was under the theme “Ensuring Agribusiness Development under Covid-19, Opportunities and Challenges.”
Hon. Laryea highly commended the municipal awardees of the event adding that he was impressed all the nominees had engaged in some form of small-scale backyard gardening which underlies the fact that they had really understood the concept of planting for food and jobs and practising it.
In his keynote address,he said the significance of the flagship programmes such as Free SHS, Planting for Food and Jobs, One District One Factory, One Village One Dam on the socio- economic lives of the people cannot be over-emphasized.
He said in spite of the negative consequences of Covid-19 on farmers, government quickly rose up to the task and attended to the plight of farmers by providing subsidized fertilizer, hybrid seeds and weed killers to over 42,000 smallholder farmers across the country, including home gardeners in the municipality.
He seized the opportunity to solicit the support of the electorate to extend the mandate of the two Members of Parliament(MP) in Okaikwei Central and Okaikwei North, Hon. Patrick Boamah and Hon. Fuseini Issah respectively.
Hon. Laryea said under the able leadership of the two MPs, the municipality has received its fair share of development.
He impressed on the electorate to retain His Excellency the President in office to sustain the good agricultural policies, adding that the many developmental projects, programmes and policies need to be continued for the good people of Ghana.
The Municipal Director of Agriculture, Mr Carl Cudjoe stated that the assembly would continue to rely on home gardening in the municipality due to the unavailability of land.
In a related development, the municipal overall best farmer was 80year old Mary Anobea Asafu-Adjaye, a retired professional nurse.
She received a tricycle, wellington boots,rain coats, wheelbarrow, cutlass, soaps, pieces of cloth, a citation among others.
She urged the youth to venture into agriculture in every small way adding that they should abandon the notion that it was uneducated people who farm.
Other awardees included best ruminant farmer, best rabbit farmer,best poultry farmer, best crop farmer, best vegetable farmer.
The rest are best home gardener, best youth farmer and best woman farmer.
Madam Faustina Osei was declared the best agriculture extension agent for 2020.
In a closing remark,the chairman of the occasion, Nii Ayibonte Adams II, chief of Achimota, cautioned the youth not to allow themselves to be used as agents of violence in the impending elections.
Sourece:www.onmaonline.com