The 36th Farmers Day celebration in the Bole District of the Savannah Region took place at Sonyo on Friday 6th November, 2020.

The theme for the farmers day celebration was; “Ensuring Agribusiness Development under Covid 19, Opportunities and Challenges”.

In his welcome address, the Sonyowura Kanyiti (l), acknowledge all dignitaries and stakeholders for choosing Sonyo for this year’s celebration. He said the people of Sonyo are predominantly peasant farmers and the crops they cultivate include maize, millet, guinea corn, yams, cassava among others.

The Sonyowura extended his gratitude on behalf of the traditional area to past and present governments for implementing policies that his traditional area is benefiting from.

He used the occasion to appeal to the government to work on the Sonyo road and also provide them with a telecommunication network.

He edged the youth and politicians to desist from politics of insults and violence.

The Bole District Director of Agriculture, Alhaji Alhaji Ibrahim Mumuni congratulated all hard-working farmers and fishers who over the years feed the teeming population in the district and Ghana at large.

He said the Bole District office of Agriculture has supported 1,304 farmers under the government flagship programmes which seeks to increase crop production and also alleviate poverty among farmers. The district director also added that farmers within the district benefited from subsided fertilizer, free cashew seedlings and free domestic animals for rearing.

Alhaji Ibrahim added that some women groups in Chache were supported
with corn mill and a Tricycle motor to help them process shea butter under the Modernization of Agric Programme (MAG).

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bole Madam Veronica Alele Heming commended all award winners and the farmers for contributing towards the development of the district and the country at large.

The Bole DCE used the occasion to enumerate the importance the National Farmers Day Celebration which was instituted in 1985 to recognize the pivotal roles farmers and fisherman play in the Ghanaian economy. She said it is a known fact that government huge investment in the Agric sector is crucial because the country’s ability to respond to food security during the Covid – 19 has testified and proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the best way to go is the agriculture sector.

Madam Veronica Alele Heming said the NPP government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development since 2017, has taken giant steps to address food security challenges and jobs creation through the flagship programmes like the Planting for Food and Jobs, Planting for Export and Rural Development, Rearing for Food and Jobs, One Village One Dam, One Distinct One Factory, One Distinct One Warehouse. She discloses that a total of 5354 farmers benefited from the (PFJ) since 2017. 450,000 cashew seedlings were distributed to 3200 farmers for free across the district. 75 farmers in the district also benefited from the rearing for food and jobs.

She said the district also constructed (10) dugout (earth dams) under the one District one dam initiative.

She appealed to the traditional authority to help stop bush burning, indiscriminate cutting of trees, charcoal burning and other environmental menaces in the district.