Government intends to gradually shift the focus of Agriculture in Ghana from a subsistence farming to agri-business using the 2019 national Farmers day as a starting point.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah at a news briefing announced that the Volta Region will host the 35th Edition of the 2019 Farmers day celebrations on the theme “Enhancing Small Scale Agriculture Towards Agribusiness Development”
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori -Atta will on Wednesday, 11th of September officially launch the 2019 Farmers Day celebrations with a focus of having a paradigm shift for the sector to see Agriculture as a Business that responds to the economic growth of the country and not just Agriculture for purposes of farming to feed the household.
Kojo Nkrumah disclosed that the one-day celebration at the National level will this year be replaced with an 8-Day Agricultural Fair.
“The essence of the 8-Day Agricultural Fair is to give opportunity to Award Winners and the good people of Ghana to see and learn new technologies, machinery, research innovations and improvements and processing of agricultural products by the various stakeholders in the agricultural sector” he said.
AWARD FOR NATIONAL BEST FARMER REVIEWED
Additionally, there is a change in the traditional system of awarding a house to the best farmer. This year, the National best farmer will take home a cash prize. Government will further expect the winner to submit a business plan to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. As per the business plan, the best farmer will have his farms expanded to also provide jobs for others.
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The National Farmers’ Day celebration offers a unique opportunity for a collective assessment of the role of the farmers and fishermen in the National economy.
