Accra, Oct. 10, GNA – St. Mary’s Boys Senior High emerged winners of this Year’s special World Food Day “What Do You Know” contest for Western Regional Senior High Agricultural Students (SHS).

The maiden event for SHS this year, saw five agric schools being randomly selected to participate to mark the 31st World Food Day celebration in Ghana. Previous competitions have been among the five public universities.

Master Samuel Abroquah contestant for St. Mary Boys received GH¢500 cash, a Certificate of Participation and a plague with the first rounded-up going to the Nkroful Agricultural SHS represented by Master James Ayensu. He took GH¢400 cash and a certificate.

The third, fourth and fifth prizes of GH¢300, GH¢200 and GH¢100 cash plus certificates of participation, went to Nsein SHS, Shama SHS and Sefwi Wiaso SHS respectively. Miss Janet Cobbina and Masters John Akpagana and Bright Andoh represented the third, fourth and fifth positions in that order.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, chose Western Region this year to observed the Day in order to highlights the economic importance and nutritional value of coconut.

In addition to observing the world wide theme of the Day, which is “Food Prices: From Crisis to Stability”, Ghana has chosen a sub theme:“Greening Ghana with Coconut” to also engender efforts to address the devastating nature of "Cape Saint Paul Wilt", a disease, which destroys coconut plantations, especially along the coast.

Mr Yaw Effah-Baafi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Crops, said Ghana’s coconut plantations along the coasts were being depleted as a result of the disease, hence the need to place special attention on the crop.

Coconut, he said, has so many nutritional values and economic importance, and therefore local farmers needed to be educated and supported so as to help to derive the maximum benefit from the crop.

Mr Effah-Baafi, who is the Chairman of the National Planning Committee for Ghana’s World Food Day celebration, said the worldwide the Day aims to create public awareness on the food problems and uniting all people to fight hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

He said for us in Ghana, the day presented an opportunity for the country to reflect on efforts being made to improve the food situation in the country as well create avenues for local farmers to increase yields.

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme are the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s (MOFA) key partners for the World Food Day celebration. Other sponsors over the years have been Amen Amen Institute and the Food and Drugs Board.

This year’s event to be climaxed as always by a flag raising ceremony will be held at Obronikrom in the Shama District of the Western Region. The Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Ahwoi will lead dignitaries from the UN, FAO and WFP to plant coconut seedlings.

World Food Day was proclaimed in 1979 by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).