How Well Do We Celebrate Our Farmers?

December is here with us once again and the first Friday will be celebrated as Farmers and Fishermen’s Day in Ghana. This will be celebrated with pomp and pageantry with so many awards given to Ghana’s farmers and fisher folk. A lot of noise will be made about the prizes awarded as they were donated by various companies who play several roles in the agricultural economy of Ghana. But my question is, how well do we celebrate our farmers and fisher folk? After the awards what next?

Are we going to ensure that the farmers get the inputs that are needed to improve their production? Is the government of the day doing enough for the farmers and fisher folk to sacrifice more for Ghana to achieve food sufficiency? What is the government doing to encourage more of the youth to move into the agricultural sector? Are we going to listen to speeches and no action done for another year? What is being done for farmers to get access to good and quality healthcare, good drinking water, good roads for the transportation of their farm produce from their farms to the market centers? Do the children of the farmers and fisher folk have access to quality education? To add to the above, what is being done to add value to the farm produce? Are they all still to be exported in their raw state, and for how long will this practice go on? When are we also going to stop the importation of some of the basic farm products which we can produce locally here if the farmers are given the necessary support by the government and other corporate institutions?

In my opinion, until all these questions are addressed and some actions are undertaken to fully realize the outcomes and aspirations of the farmers and fisher folk in Ghana, we will never have a proper Farmers and Fishermen’s Day celebration in Ghana. Remember to pray for a farmer, fisherman and all those involved in bringing food to your table anytime you are about to enjoy your meal. Happy Farmers and Fishermen’s Day, Ghana. God bless Ghana, God bless us all.