Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Nana Akosua Frimpomaa has described the National Farmers’ Day Celebration as a mockery to farmers.
The National Farmers' Day in Ghana is celebrated on the first Friday of December each year to recognise the contributions of farmers and fishers in the country. The Day is also intended to pay respect to the importance of the farming and fishing industry in the socio-economic growth of Ghana.
However, during election years, the celebration has been moved to the first Friday in November thus this year’s event was held on Friday, November 4, 2020, at Techiman in the Bono East Region.
This year’s edition which was the 36th of its kind was celebrated under the theme; Agribusiness Development under COVID19; Opportunities and Challenges, and saw 55-year-old farmer, Solomon Kojo Kusi adjudged 2020 National best.
Mr. Kusi, who is from the Jomoro District of the Western Region received a GHS 570.000 cash price and the equivalent of a two-bedroom house.
Madam Akosua Frimpomaa has questioned the importance of the kinds of awards given farmers for their hard work on Farmers day each year.
Sharing her views on this year’s celebration, the Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party described the celebration as a mockery to the farmers.
According to the CPP Stalwart, government must go beyond granting holiday status to farmers’ Day celebration and the gifts that go with it:
“This holiday is mockery to the farmers.it’s like making fun of the farmers. We have to input broad policies that will focus on improving the farmer’s production constraint which will create a market for the farmers and not fridges and Televisions given to them” she noted.
Nana Akosua Frimpomaa stressed that the agric sector in Ghana must be seen as the engine of growth because that is the sector that creates more jobs and improves the lives of many people.
She however noted that most street children are hardworking and are from homes of farmers but lack of opportunity has led them to Accra to become street children hence her call for a review of policies in the agric sector to improve farmers' production constraint.
Watch video of Nana Akosua Frimpomaa’s submission below: