Six companies support Farmers Day
Six corporate organisations have made separate cash donations and presented products to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to support the upcoming 31st National Farmers Day celebrations.
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The event, which would be held in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region on December 4, is on the theme, “Transform Ghana: Invest in Agriculture".
They include, Kasapreko Company Limited,
GHC¢ 53,000 with assorted drinks, a computer and printer to be given to the National Best Farmer; Ghana Reinsurance, GH¢ 15,000; Accra Breweries Limited (ABL), GH¢ 20,000 with 220 cases of assorted drinks; National Investment Bank (NIB), GH¢ 20,000; Interplast Ghana Limited, GH¢30, 000 and Calli Ghana Company Limited, GH¢ 40,000 with some assorted agricultural products.
The "Farmers Day" was instituted by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1985. Since then, the event has been held annually to recognise the important role that farmers, fishermen and livestock producers play in the agricultural sector.
Support laudable
Receiving the donations, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Crops, Dr Alhassan Yakubu Ahmed, said the ministry was targeting to spend about GH¢ six million cedis in the upcoming celebrations and was, therefore, grateful for the support from the companies.
He said it was important for the business community in the country to invest in the agricultural sector as it was the only way to make the economy of the country stand on its own.
"Invest in agricultural value chains to generate the needed jobs for the youth and also to ensure that businesses that are agriculture dependent got the adequate raw materials to work with," he said.
Dr Ahmed further appealed to other corporate bodies in the country to emulate the gesture of the companies by donating towards the success of the celebration.
We are committed
In her remarks, the Corporate and Legal Affairs Director of ABL, Madam Ajoba Kyiamah, said the long-term sustainability of the company depended on growing economies, healthy communities and responsible use of scarce natural resources.
In line with this, she said the company, as part of its social intervention programmes, would build a furrow irrigation system with a solar powered mechanised borehole for rural farmers at Yirene within the Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region.
“The gesture is to demonstrate the company’s commitment to enhancing the livelihood of farmers, especially cassava farmers, as well as contribute to the socio-economic development of the country”, she said.
In his address, the Managing Director of Kasapreko Ghana Limited, Mr Richard Adjei, said the company was looking forward to collaborating with MoFA in the future to support farmers.
That, he said, was because most of the products of the company were made from farm products, hence the need to support them.
For Mr Charles Wordey, the Head of Corporate Affairs of the NIB, the bank recognised the contribution of farmers to national development, hence the need to support and show the bank’s appreciation to them.
