Forty-five-year-old secondary school leaver, Ali Lukeman from Atebubu emerged as the Best Farmer for the Atebubu-Amantin Municipality at this year’s novelle district and regional farmer’s day celebration held at Kintampo in the Bono East Region.

The proprietor of Lukeman Farms and commodities cultivates 310 acres of rice, 300 acres of maize, 30 acres of cowpea, 11 acres of pepper, 10 acres of okro, 5 acres of garden eggs, and 3 acres each of yam and cassava. He also keeps 50 cattle and goats, 175 sheep, and 91 local fowls.

He took home a tricycle, wax print, 2 knapsack sprayers, 5 cutlasses, a pair of Wellington boots, 1 radio set, bars of key soap, 3 bottles of agrochemicals a bag of fertilizer, and a certificate.

Earlier in a welcome address, the Bono East Regional Director of Agriculture, James Adu said the recently launched phase two of the "Planting for Food and Jobs" initiative seeks to address the issue of high cost of imputes facing farmers by providing all their requirements apart from land.

He added that beneficiaries will only have to pay back after harvesting their produce.

The Member of Parliament for Kintampo North, Joseph Kwame Kumah stressed the
importance of creating cattle ranches in the region to forestall the perennial problems between farmers and nomadic herdsmen.

In a keynote address, the Bono East Regional Minister, Kwasi Adu-Gyan said the centralized awards format adopted this year affords farmers from various parts of the region a platform to fraternize, share ideas, and exhibit the agricultural potentials of the region.

He described the region as a hub for food production in the country contributing significantly to food security. The minister extolled the production potentials of yam from Atebubu, maize from Nkoranza, beans from Amantin, cashew from Techiman, tomatoes from Tuobodom, rice from Kintampo and fish from both Yeji and Kajaji among others.

Referring to the theme for the celebration, "delivering smart solutions for sustainable food security and resilience", the minister said factors like climate change, population growth, and resource constraints make it imperative to use technology to advance agriculture.

He said that plans are afoot to engage the Regional House of Chiefs to deliberate on measures that will help curb the annual nomadic cattle influx in the region.

Ankyala Bonzie and Sulemana Abdul Karim emerged as the Best Crop and Livestock Farmers in the municipality respectively and were presented with motorbikes and a host of other items.

A number of farmers were also honored for excelling in various sectors at the regional level. The function was chaired by the Omanhene of the Mo Traditional Area, Nana Kwaku Dankwa III.