National Farmers' Day activities start with colourful procession

This year’s weeklong activities of the National Farmers' Day begin today with a climax on Friday, November 8, 2024, in the Greater Accra Region. 

All the national winners, who arrived in Accra yesterday, will today join in the official opening of the weeklong activities with a colourful float procession starting from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and winding its way to the exhibition grounds at the Ministries, Accra.

The day will culminate in an ADB welcome cocktail for the national award winners in the evening.

Attendees for the activities marking the 40th anniversary of the prestigeous event from today, will witness various activities, including farmers' forums, exhibitions of modern farming implement, and tours led by national award winners.

All 16 regions are expected to showcase their agricultural products and rich culture. 

Honouring excellence

On November 7, there will be a rehearsal for the prestigious National Awards Night Ceremony, which will take place on November 8, where President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will present honours to the best-performing farmers across 15 award categories.

The categories include Overall National Best Farmer, National Best Livestock Farmer, and National Best Female Farmer, reflecting the diverse contributions of individuals in the agricultural sector.

No regional-level celebrations

This year, there will be no regional-level celebrations, however, each region is permitted to nominate 10 regional award categories.

A letter signed by the acting Chief Director, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Paul Siameh, said: “These awardees are required to travel to Accra on Friday, November 8, 2024, where they will be honoured at the Awards Night ceremony taking place at 4 p.m. at Alisa Hotel, North Ridge.

“At this ceremony, regional ministers will confer awards on the honourees from their respective regions,” the letter said.

It, however, added that all expenses related to the participation of regional award winners, including travel, accommodation and meals, should be covered by their respective regional coordinating councils.

Corporate support

To present a united front in support of farmers, the corporate community has been a pillar for the annual celebration over the years.

The majority of the prize awards are always from generous donations from the corporate bodies.

For the contribution of the corporate bodies, the list would not be complete without the mentioning of the Agricultural Development Bank (PLC), the headline sponsor for over two decades now.

The Exim Bank has been consistent with the First Runner-Up prize of a tractor with a trailer and a boom sprayer, while the Stanbic Bank over the years has been the sponsor of the Second Runner-Up prize of a tractor with accessories.

This year’s contribution, however, seems to be slow in coming, since so far, only about 10 companies have made presentations to the ministry as their corporate responsibility to honour our gallant farmers.

These include the Agricultural Development Bank (PLC), Stanbic Bank Ghana, New Okaff, Wynca Sunshine, Rainbow Agro, Crocodile Matchets and YARA Ghana, as of now.

Last week, the latest to come to support the event was RMG, which presented a cheque for GH¢10,000 and products worth GH¢45,000, Agriseed Ltd presented a cheque for GH¢7,500 and a quantity of branded T-shirts, while Nanam Ventures donated cheque and products valued at GH¢40,000. Chemico Gh for its part, presented products worth

GH¢31,200, while Interplast Ltd presented products worth GH¢27,000.

These contributions highlight the essential role of the private sector in enhancing food security and supporting farmers.

For Mr Siameh, even though the numbers looked low, “we expect that within the weeklong activities, other companies would come along.”

Significance of theme

Touching on the theme, he said as the nation came out of a near famine situation at the beginning of the rainy season, the theme, "Building climate-resilient agriculture for sustainable food security", emphasised the nation's commitment to adapting agricultural practices in response to climate change challenges.

“It is to arm all of us to adopt various measures to address such occurrences,” Mr Siameh said, adding that this year’s celebration provided a strategic platform for dialogue and innovation, encouraging farmers and stakeholders to adapt to environmental changes while promoting agricultural best practices.