When the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military government, led by the late Jerry John Rawlings instituted the National Farmers’ Day in 1985 with the first winner taking home a cutlass, Wellington boots and other agriculture items at a rally held at Osino, in the Eastern Region, many people did not see the importance of it.
A cutlass and wellington boots as a prize would have been considered an insult today, but the winner was proud of it. The negative comments that followed the first award did not also discourage the Jerry Rawlings’ military junta from shelving the idea.
They pursued it and as a matter of fact, improved upon the awards every year to encourage our gallant farmers to continuously produce to feed the nation.
Indeed, when the John Agyekum Kufuor government took over the reins of power in January 2001, after so many years under Rawlings’ rule, he did not abandon the celebration of Farmers’ Day because he saw wisdom in it. He also improved upon it, a development which compelled many elites living in our towns and cities to venture into farming.
Following almost two years of drought, there was serious famine in 1983 in Ghana. But the country, even though practices rain fed farming, has not experienced that kind of hunger, ever since farmers’ day was instituted two years later.
This means the policy has served the country well and must be applauded. However, it does not mean we should loose-guard by limiting the promotion of the idea of working hard to feed ourselves.
We need to encourage people, especially the youth, to go into farming on commercial scale to produce more to feed the nation and even get surplus for export, to earn the badly needed foreign exchange for the country.
This must, however, not be done at the expense of their education. Parents must, therefore, not force their children to go into farming and win awards during farmers’ day at the expense of their education.
The Chronicle, therefore, supports the call by the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe and the Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, to farmers not to prevent their children from going to school and that, there was the need for all children to benefit from education at all cost so they could gain the needed skills and knowledge to help them perform well, where ever they find themselves.
Speaking at a Farmers’ Day rally at Oyoko, in Ashanti Region, the minister also appealed to all parents to take keen interest in the education of their children by visiting their schools to interact with the teachers, as well as motivate them to do more for their children and the nation as a whole.
Education is important in the future development of every child. Therefore, forcing children to go into farming instead of school is not an ideal situation that must be encouraged.
The Chronicle therefore calls on all parents and guardians to listen to the sound advice from the minister by getting their wards enrolled in school for formal education.
Parents will be jeopardising the future of their children if they are forced to go into farming. The right to go into farming should be taken by the child after he or she has formally been educated and grown into adulthood.
Most of the farmers we see in the advanced countries are highly educated and this is what we must also replicate here in Ghana.
