The District Chief Executive for Kintampo South in the Bono East Region, Opoku Nyame, has commended the efforts of farmers in the district, and stressed that their daily toil feeds and keeps citizens alive.
He bemoaned the activities of organised hunters (forata or kyenokyeno), which had become rampant in the district, and thus cause financial loses to both farmers and the state.
Speaking at this year’s Farmer’s Day celebration, Opoku Nyame cautioned involved in the act to put a stop to it.
About twenty fire volunteers, trained by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), were inaugurated to assist farmers to deal with bushfire at the Farmer’s Day celebration.
Mr. Opoku Nyame called on the farmers to contact the fire volunteers whenever they wished to use fire in their farms.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Kintampo South, Mr. Alexander Gyan, congratulated the farmers for their hard work, and called for their support for the government to implement the 2022 Budget in the interest of all Ghanaians.
The Chief of Jema and Kyidomhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, Nana Amponsah Gyan, warned people who cause bushfires that destroy farming activities to desist from that or face the wrath of the law.
Mr Emanuel Takyi 48, a resident of Pramposo in Kintampo South, was adjudged Overall District Best Farmer and took away assorted items including a tricycle, Motorking.
Benard Okogyeapem, a resident of Jema, emerged the 1st Runner Up, and took away assorted items, including a motorcycle.
Martin Mensah, from Ntankoro, walked home with assorted items, including a sprayer as the 2nd Runner Up.
Meanwhile, the Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene, has congratulated all farmers in the Bono Region for their tireless and continuous contributions to food security, industry, and Ghana’s economy in general.
“Your recognition is more profound, because you have worked tirelessly in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the phenomenon of climate change and its negative ramifications to agricultural production,” the Minister said in a press release issued in Sunyani to mark Farmer’s Day.
Touching on the theme for this year’s celebrations, which was “Planting for Food and Jobs – Consolidating Food Systems in Ghana,” the Minister said it was her strong conviction that all stakeholders would avail themselves to collaborate with the government and Bono Regional Coordinating Council to sustain the significant gains chalked in the agricultural sector for the past few years.
She stated: “It further fashion our pragmatic measures to institutionalize systems that will ensure that the entire agricultural value chain is fully functional and beneficial for all.”
She added: “It is without doubt that the Bono Region continues to be accorded the enviable accolade as the Bread Basket of the nation, due to our significant contribution to the country’s food requirements. While we acknowledge the role of our farmers and fisherfolks for achieving this feat, it behoves us to work even harder to justify and maintain this accolade and continually remain relevant in supplying the needed food requirement of the nation.”
