A 49-year-old vegetable farmer Patricia Nuamah of Adaase in the Obuasi Municipality has been adjudged the 2024 Obuasi Municipal Best Farmer at the 40th National Farmers’ Day celebration.

The event was shifted from the traditional first Friday of December to November 8th to make way for the upcoming elections on December 7.

For her prize, Mrs. Nuamah received AngloGold Ashanti's sponsored 40-inch LED TV, motorized tricycles (Aboboyaa), two wellington boots, 12 pieces of GTP wax print, one box of Key soap, two knapsack sprayers, machetes, and one box of Sunphosate Glyphosate weedicide and one brush cutter.

In an interview with the Media, the Municipal best farmer attributed her success to strictly following the instructions of the Agricultural extension officers.

She said following the dictates of the Agric officers made it easier for her by adopting modern technology for her farming business.

Describing the award as a "dream come through", Mrs Patricia Nuamah was hopeful that the award will spur more women on to develop interest in Agriculture.

" This award should motivate young women to also develop an interest in Agriculture since it is a lucrative venture", she said.

Also speaking, Kwaku Kwarteng, the Member of Parliament for the Obuasi West constituency said a concerted effort is what is needed to fight galamsey and protect farmlands.

The devastating impact of galamsey on farmlands and water bodies has been a subject of media discussions in recent times with most people blaming the surge in galamsey on the lack of political will on the part of government to fight it.

Kwaku Kwarteng said winning the war against galamsey is not about an individual or institution but it requires collective efforts from chiefs, media, courts, security institutions, etc.

He said the surge in illegal mining activities was worrying explaining that while its devastating impact on water bodies and ecosystems is widely acknowledged, its catastrophic consequences for crop production and fish consumption, and the subsequent threat to food security, cannot be overstated.

Kwaku Kwarteng seized the opportunity to commend farmers in the Obuasi Municipality for their contributions towards food security and general economic development.

He again congratulated Patricia Nuamah for winning the Best Farmer award saying that, it will motivate a lot more women to venture into agriculture.

This year's 40th National Farmers' Day was under the theme “building climate resilient agriculture for sustainable food security”.

This, Elijah Adansi-Bonah, the Municipal Chief Executive for Obuasi calls for collective action and collaboration among all stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector, including Farmers, fisher folks, researchers, Extension Agents, Policymakers, Private Sector, Civil Society, and Consumers.

Godfred Nsowah of Mamiriwa No. 2 came second (2nd) while the Best woman farmer went to Grace Bannor of Mamiriwa No.1. The Best Youth Farmer award was won by David Antwi of Adaase.