Charity Akortia, a 57-year-old mixed farmer from the Agona West District in the Central Region, was honored as the best farmer at the 39th National Farmers’ Day celebrations.
Madam Akortia was awarded GH₵1 million sponsored by the Agriculture Development Bank, along with other prizes.
The first runner-up, Theophilus Ezenrane Ackah from Jomoro in the Western Region, received a high-power tractor head, trailer, a set of implements, and a boom sprayer sponsored by the Ghana Exim Bank.
The second runner-up was presented with an MF tractor head, trailer, and a set of implements sponsored by Stanbic Bank.
This year’s Farmers’ Day celebration was held at Tarkwa on the theme “Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience” last Friday.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who was present at the event, presented the prizes to the awardees of the day. He congratulated them for their dedication to feeding the nation and emphasized that the celebration of Farmers Day should serve as a reminder of the importance of achieving food security.
Dr. Bawumia highlighted that the evolving circumstances in agriculture necessitate new strategies to attain the national objectives of food security.
“As we honour our heroic farmers and co-actors in the agricultural value chain, we must remember that the new dynamics necessitate new solutions to achieve our food security, resilience, job creation, poverty reduction, and prosperity goals.”
Additionally, he underscored that the agriculture sector serves as the cornerstone of the Ghanaian economy.
He said, “Ghana’s experience in the agricultural front demonstrates the government’s unwavering commitment to transform the sector and place it on a sound footing of accelerated development. These efforts that the government has put in since 2017 have yielded notable success through the flagship programme, planting for food and jobs.”
“When you look at the average growth rate of Ghana’s agricultural sector from 2013-2016, it was 2.9%, but when we implemented the PFJ in 2017, the average growth rate from 2017 to 2022 was 6%. The significant growth rate enhanced school food security, increased job opportunities and supported emerging industries with raw materials,” he noted.
Furthermore, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, affirmed that the government is implementing the requisite measures to uphold the progress achieved in the agricultural sector.