Dompoase (Ash.) Nov. 5 GNA - Twelve individuals and one educational institution, Opoku Ware Secondary School (OWASS) were on Friday honoured with prize awards during the celebration of the 20th National Farmers Day in the Kumasi Metropolis at Dompoase.

Among the wide range of items they received were knapsack spraying machines, wax prints, radio cassette recorders, Wellington boots, cutlasses, bar soap, certificates and badges.

Mr Joseph Agyeman, a 53-year-old farmer at Dompoase-Aprabon was adjudged the overall best farmer for the year in the Metropolis. Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Metropolitan Chief Executive, said pragmatic policies and interventions introduced by the Government within the last four years had helped to change the face of the country's agriculture.

"Today, farming is once again becoming the respectable profession, it used to be".

He said the country had been blessed with good arable land, sufficient amount of rainfall and plenty sunshine and these had been motivating the Government to formulate the appropriate policies adding that there was no reason why anybody should be unemployed in Ghana.

Mr George Badu-Yeboah, Metropolitan Director of Agriculture, pointed out that the country could not achieve its targeted economic growth and poverty reduction without the agricultural sector performing strongly.

He said it was against this background that everything should be done to modernise agriculture to enable it to achieve substantial growth.