History of farmers' day celebrations in Ghana.
“Farmers’ Day” was instituted in 1985 in recognition of the vital role that our farmers and fishermen played in the nation's economy, especially the highly commendable output of farmers and fishermen in 1984.
This was after the bad agricultural years of 1982 and 1983.
The country suffered a serious drought which can never be compared to any in the country's history.
This was due to devastating bushfires which left the land bare and dry. It caused severe food shortage, as cocoa farms, livestock and food crops were destroyed. To make matters worse, more than one million Ghanaians who travelled to Nigeria to seek for greener pastures were chased out back to their home country.
The Mobisquads cleared the farmlands and replanted the cocoa trees. They also constructed classroom blocks, roads, toilets and many others.
In 1984, the National Mobilisation Programme (NMP), under the chairmanship of Commodore Steve Obimpeh, and the Ghana Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives (GHAFACOOPS), led by Togbe Sasraku, organised a programme in December, 1985 to celebrate the role of our gallant farmers for reviving the country's Agric sector through various activities which ended the famine and long drought.
The occasion brought farmers from all over the country and converged at Osino in the Eastern Region to mark the first ever National Farmers’ Day celebration with Captain Kojo Tsikata (rtd), member of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), being the guest speaker.
The package to the first best farmer was made up of two Machetes, a pair of Wellington boots and a preset radio. Other farmers also received honours from the state, including cutlasses, sacks, bicycles and boots.
According to Mr. Boadi, agriculture is the backbone of our economy and we cannot do away with it when it comes to Nation building and development. Just as a building needs a strong base (foundation) which will support the remaining structure, so does an economic growth needs agriculture; the stronger the base, the better the buildings.
Moreover, Agriculture forms the base of an economy. Agriculture forms the backbone of any economy. Without a strong agricultural base, a nation will always find it difficult to sustain its economic growth. This is primarily because it will not be able to meet the food demands of the economy.
In other words, he stated with conviction that, the main source of livelihood of many people is agriculture, because agriculture is the heart of our daily life. Farming cannot exist without farmers. Indeed, farmers are supposed to be treated very well!
Below are the basic benefits of the farmers efforts;
1. They produce high quality, safe food for more than the current population of Ghana is 29,723,252. As of Tuesday, December 4, 2018, based on the latest United Nations estimates. So it's estimated to be 29.46 million. Ghana's population is equivalent to 0.39% of the total world population.
2. They also help to tackle climate change and preserve diversity of agriculture.
3. They sustain the state's food requirements but it acts as a huge source of employment.
4. It also provides opportunity for export (Foreign Exchange Resources).
5. Contribution to National revenue.
6. Supply of Food as well as Fodder.
7. Significance to the International Trade.
8. Marketable Surplus.
9. Source of raw materials
The current conditions of most farmers is that, they always sing a song of poverty because they luck purchasing power(money). The following are some few instances where they are being cheated;
1. Free fertilizers to be given to farmers usually divert to those with political Jerseys and even sometimes turned to be sold to them.
2. But for God, the politician would have kept all to themselves for a political gain.
3. In Ghana, we have cocoa clinic situated in Accra where farmers hardly find it. How many farmers do know of It?
4. Farmers in the rural areas always suffer before medical attention is rendered to them because there's no cash to carry out the treatment. Some end up dying for lack of health facilities among other things.
5. Farmers farm products easily deteriorate largely due to bad road network which does not allow smooth transportation of goods to the market.
I hereby commend H. E. Excellency President Nana Addo for his social intervention dabbed, 'Planting for Food and Jobs.' Going forward, we would like the government to review the award system and rather consider the welfare of our farmers. Also, government should place value on the farmers by creating a pension scheme for them just as the other professionals. Furthermore, government must make and sustain initiatives with excellent strategic measures to arouse the interest of others especially the youth to engage in agribusiness.
Happy Farmers Day to all farmers! We say AYEKOO........!
Long live Ghana
Long live Farmers
Long live Educate Ghana Summit
SGD
Mr. Boadi William
CEO, Educate Ghana Summit
0541935106
Mr. Abanga Justice
Deputy CEO/PRO
0547096909
_Visit:www.educategh.org._ we educate the nation
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