Lower Manya rewards best farmers
A 49-year-old man, Mr Andrews Ossom (from Oborpah), won this year’s Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Best Farmer award. He received a fridge, a 21 inch television, one bundle of roofing sheets, a knapsack sprayer, four cutlasses, a pair of Wellington boots, wax print and a certificate. Sixteen other farmers including a visually impaired were also honoured at the 29th edition of the district’s Farmers Day held at Oborpa.
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This year’s Lower Manya Krobo best farmer has been farming for the past 24 years. He won the best beekeeping farmer in 2003 and best small ruminant farmer in 2006.
Mr Ossom has 21 acres of maize, 38 acres of cassava, five acres of oil palm and two acres of agro- forestry. Others include 64 beehives, 86 pigs, 122 local fowls, 37 guinea fowls and 27 sheep and goats.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Isaac Agbo- Tetteh, who addressed the gathering on the theme: “Reducing post- harvest losses for sustainable food security and nutrition,” congratulated the farmers in the municipality on their immense contribution towards food production, food security, food sufficiency and economic transformation of the area.
He sad worldwide, the amount of food lost and wasted each year was four times (even more) what would be needed to solve the world’s hunger problems.
Mr Agbo- Tetteh attributed the post-harvest losses to poor planning, lack of storage facilities, weak transportation system, crop diseases, pest infestation and poor management.
He said it was very sad that some areas in the municipality had been witnessing post-harvest losses. He said most tomatoes remained rotten on the fields, by the road side and market centres.
The Municipal Chief Executive announced that this academic year, every school in the municipality should have sample farms to boost food production to support the school feeding programme as well as enhance teaching and learning of Agriculture and Integrated Science in the schools.
He gave an assurance that the municipal assembly would acquire the land and supply chemicals and other materials that would be needed for the school project.
The Municipal Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Dr Evans W. Lawson, advised farmers and the general public to liaise with the Department of Agriculture in the municipality for an improved technology in farming.
He said demonstration farms would enable the youth to develop interest in agriculture.