Bongo District’s 2021 best farmer has disclosed that he started his farming career with a paltry twenty Ghana cedis.
Baba Timothy revealed that he started farming by attaching himself with the district 1996 best farmer – Mr. Aloko -Dongo and Madam Teni one of the national best farmers as role model in the farming business. He expressed concern that most farmers are lacking skills because they don’t attach themselves with people who are agriculture inclined and as such can deploy modern agricultural methods.
The 38-year-old best farmer who is also a professional teacher told word news that he started farming at a tender age after he lost his father “I started farming with only twenty Ghana cedis in the year 2002, started in Nyariga valleys in the Bolgatanga municipality with rice farming and here I’m as the best District farmer for Bongo, so it’s not necessarily getting thousands of cedis. Even if you take one billion Ghana cedis to farm and you can’t manage the money and the farm, you will still loose”.
The teacher cum farmer noted that he relies on proper agricultural advice “I cultivate what has money in the market, you don’t farm because you are a farmer, so you have to rely on the Agriculture extension officers for the best crop with value in the market”.
Mr Baba Timothy the best farmer took home a tricycle, pair of Wellington boots, a Knapsack sprayer, a Radio set and a certificate.
Whiles some of the award winners took home a 32 inches flash screen Tv, Falicom fertilizer from ETG, water containers, pieces of cloth, key soap, bicycle and many more.
The season farmer however lamented that he could not access fertilizer and other inputs through the government flagship program Planting For Food and Jobs this year. Thievery in his fish farm is a major worry to him.
He appealed to the government to make agriculture more lucrative by making the Planting For Food and Jobs more accessible to all farmers in the country.
Gaspard Ayuureneeya