Adentan Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Daniel Alexander Nii-Noi Adumuah, has advised farmers to add value to their produce in order to expand their market share and increase revenues.
According to him, doing so would increase their consumer base, offer them a competitive edge, and increase their revenue and profit margins.
At the municipality’s 38th National Farmers’ Day event, Mr. Adumuah spoke on the topic of “accelerating agricultural development through value addition.”
He claimed that as farmers continued to lose land to real estate developers, agriculture had grown limited in the town.
“There is not much we can do as an Assembly but we can only encourage you to consider value addition instead of only production, and if possible come together to acquire some of the lands to facilitate your activities,” he said.
Anna Armo-Himbson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), said value addition was critical for job creation, especially in these challenging times.
In her Keynote address, she said that could help bridge the unemployment gap of about 1.74 million (13.4 per cent) of the Ghanaian 13 million working population.
Madam Armo-Himbson urged the youth to join the World Bank funded Ghana Jobs and Skills Development project, which targets to train 50,000 youth.
The Municipal Farmers’ Day was graced by traditional leaders, academia and faith-based organisations among others.
Seven personalities received prizes with the Overall Best Farmer going to Frank Okyere-Boateng.
He took home a tricycle, flat screen television set, and other farming inputs.
The Best Fish Farmer award went to Evans Adjei Mensah, Best Crop Farmer, Fatal Mohammed, and Best Physically Challenged Farmer, Abdul Razak.
Victoria Norgbey was the Best Livestock Farmer, Irene Lamptey, Best Agro Processor, and Dominic Mensah Johnson, Best Agric Worker.