Ajumako-Tweikukrom (C/R) Nov.6, GNA - Mr Louis Dixon, 33, proprietor of 'Dags Farms' at Gomoa-Amenfi, was on Friday adjudged the overall best farmer in the Central Region.

Mr Dixon, who has cultivated 130 hectares of cashew, maize, mango, citrus, cocoa, maize and cowpea and also owns livestock and a fish farm, became the Region's best at the 20th Regional Farmers' Day celebration at Tweikukrom in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District.

Fifteen other farmers were also honoured.

For his prize, Mr Dixon, took home a corn-mill, a high density mattress, a radio cassette player, a sewing machine, a pair of Wellington boots, a full piece of wax print, six cutlasses, a gift voucher for one million cedis worth of food and beverage at the Coconut Grove Beach Resort, a bicycle and a certificate of honour.

All the other 15 regional award winners in the various the categories of food and cash crops, fishing, livestock and poultry, also received prizes.

Mr Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional Minister, in an address noted that the nation could only attain economic progress if its citizenry were healthy and active.

He described the theme for the celebration: "Food Safety and Improved Nutrition for Healthy and Active Nation" appropriate, since healthy food for all and sustainable nutrition could only be realised through programmes for ecological food security and regulation of environmentally harmful food processing.

He said another issue worth mentioning, was food packaging which was an important component of the food people bought since it did not only protect food from external contamination, but also preserved its quality and minimised waste.

He called on the Food and Drugs Board, Ghana Standards Board, Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to step up their activities by conducting regular checks on shops to ensure that all expired products and products which did not meet the required standards were removed from the market in order to protect the consumer.

Mr Edumadze enumerated Government's efforts to solve the problems of low productivity, bad roads in food-growing areas and lack of motivation for farmers and non-availability of farm inputs and fishing equipment. The Regional Minister implored all political parties to exhibit maturity in their electioneering campaigns so as to have peaceful and violence-free elections.

He pointed out that the destiny of the country depended on the forthcoming election and, therefore, stressed the need for all not to do anything to jeopardise the gains that had been made so far. Nana Hama Ababio III, Omanhene of Ajumako Traditional Area, who presided, congratulated all the award winners and urged other farmers to emulate them.