Need To Support National Farmers Day

COMMENTARY ON 2015 NATIONAL FARMER’S DAY AND THE NEED FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO SUPPORT THE CELEBRATION

After weeks of preparations and deliberations, the countdown to the celebration of the 2015 edition of the National Farmer’s Day has begun with the formal launch of the event by the Minister of Finance Seth Tekper. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, the National Farmer’s Day is observed annually to honour hardworking farmers and fishers who continue to toil to feed the nation. They are the backbone of the country’s economic development. Observing this unique event over the years has brought smiles on the faces of farmers and fishers and the 2015 edition being the 31st in the series will be no exception. The 31st National Farmers Day scheduled for Bolgatanga will be on the theme “Transform Ghana: Invest in Agriculture”. The theme signifies a clarion call on all stakeholders to support this year’s programme and also invest in the sector to achieve food sufficiency and security.  

In the view of some critics the launch has come rather too late in view of the fact that December, the month for the event is only four months away.  This obviously will place a time bound on effective organization and preparation for such an important national programme. However, all said and done, it is better late than never. It is expected that all hands will be on deck to carry the programme through. Since the institution of the National Farmer’s Day in 1985 which was held at Osino for the first time, the celebration has undoubtedly grown from strength to strength with attractive prizes. The fact is that, the agriculture sector remains the most single important backbone of the country’s economy generating a chunk of the foreign exchange for national development.  The sector through its value-chain serves as the largest source of employment. One significant thing about the National Farmer’s Day, is that it is a statutory public holiday. The event is also marked at the Regions and District thereby acknowledging the contribution of farmers and fishers at all levels. 

There is no doubt that over the years, the sector has achieved a number of successes, despite myriad of challenges. For instance, the demand for food globally, in recent times has risen sharply as a result of increase in population and urbanization. The destruction and pollution of the environment also greatly affect arable farmland and the fishing industry. The situation in Ghana is not, different from that of the global community. Applying technology to increase productivity is a major challenge in most developing countries.  It is a fact that successive governments of Ghana over the years have put in place policies and programmes to boost agricultural productivity. An example is the National Fertilizer Subsidy Programme aimed at making that important farming input accessible and affordable to farmers, especially the small holder farmer. One expects that the many interventions by governments to ensure food security through local production, will help reduced the huge sums of foreign exchange spent to import food and poultry products annually.  The annual celebration of the National Farmers Day would never be complete without the active support and contribution of public and private Corporate Institution and Organisations through donations in birth cash and kind.  All eyes are now on the journey to Bolgatanga.  

For now, all that we can proudly, say is, ‘ayekoo’ to the nation’s farmers and fishers and more grease to their elbows for their relentless effort at feeding the nation.  Indeed, it is a day worth celebrating for as the saying goes, a nation that does not honour its heroes is not worth dying for. 

BY: NELSON KOFI AKATEY, PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, MINISTRY OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE.

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