The 38th edition of the National Farmera Day Celebration has been held in the Bolgatanga East District at the Zuarungu Agric Park to honour deserving farmers and to celebrate all farmers in the district
.
The District Director of Agriculture, Diana Akumanue, in a speech stated that agriculture is the primary source of livelihoods for over 60% of the district’s population and contributes massively to the food security improvement of the district. She also added that, in as much as the planting for food
and jobs program has encountered some challenges in its implementation, it has made some gains including; “reduction in cost of production, promotion of youth participation, visibility of women in agriculture, capacity building of technical staff, increased crop yields and animal production among others.”
The District Chief Executive, Hon. David Amoah congratulated the farmers of the district for their contribution to food security and called for value addition to agric produce.
” Farmers are increasingly bedevelled with erratic weather conditions and the inability to obtain good prices for their produce. This problem can be solved by adding value to the divers crops we produce, which can be marketed both inside and outside the country.”
” The world has become a global market and there is too much competition in the market. Value addition and crop diversification has become the only way to go. Value addition in our agriculture produce has the advantages of increasing the marketability and profitability of of agriculture produce, encourages the growth of subsidiary industries and generates employment in the agriculture value chain especially under the rural areas of the economy.
The DCE made special mention of the Single Mothers Association and the Anongtaaba Group for adding value to the agricultural products they are associated with.
” let me at this point appreciate and congratulate and encourage the Single Mothers Association and the Anongtaaba Group located here in the district, for adding value to the agricultural products they are
associated with.”
“ The Single Mothers Association, located adjacent the Nursing and Midwifery Training
School, processes an average of thirty (30) bags of hundred (100) kg of paddy rice on a daily basis, the equivalence of three (3) metric tons.The Anongtaaba Group located in Kunkua, produces 15 paint buckets of Shea Butter and 40 pieces of local soap every processing cycle on any given day”.
Touching on the contribution of government to the agricultural sector in the Bolgatanga East District, Hon. Amoah stated that the district received a total of 2,400 bags of fertilizers and 200 kg of improved seeds which were distributed to farmers across the district.
“The department of Agriculture distributed
400 cockerels to 40 farmers (31 Males, 9 females) to improve local breeds within the district.”
The District Chief Executive concluded by encouraging farmers to make a conscious effort at planting trees to reduce the rate of desertification in this part of the country and desist from the wanton felling
of trees.”
The occasion was graced by thetraditional authorities and leaders of the Christian and Islamic communities across the district.The theme for this year’s celebration is “Accelerating agricultural development through value addition”
Mr. Anogvaa Robert Adongo from Gambibgo was adjudged the overall best farmer for the Bolgatanga East District. For his price, he took home a motorking, a cutlass, a pair of Wellington boot, knapsack sprayer,two bags of green fertilizer and a certificate.
Mr. Nboka Matthew from Dachio and Juliana Atorega were adjudged the first runner up and the best female farmer respectively.
By: Simon Agana Blessing/mywordfmonline.com