The Overall Best Central Regional Farmer, Mr. Ebenezer Ebo Ayison, has called on teachers at the various levels of the educational ladder, to start including visits to farms in their excursion activities, to help generate an interest in the students for mechanised farming.
He said such activities would help students interested in agriculture to venture into it after completion of school, to solve the unemployment problem facing the nation.
In his acceptance speech, after receiving his award as Regional Best Farmer at Awutu Bawjiase last Friday, Ayison, 47, observed that the practice in schools where weeding was used as punishment, should be discouraged.
He said when students visit farms, they would erase that notion, and see farming as a business that can enable them earn good incomes.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Ama Benyiwa Doe, said about 522.2 hectares of land was ploughed this year at Kwesi Twikwaa and Odumase in the Agona District, as well as Akuaku and New Winneba in the Central Region, and more was expected to be done next year, under the District Mechanised Agriculture programme.
She said tractors would be given to the various districts to enhance agriculture, where the assemblies will pay for the items within a period of three years.
She said the government would make sure that the bad roads are be rehabilitated, to ensure easy accessibility to remote areas, and electricity supply extended to villages, while more extension officers would be trained to complement the staff strength of the extension division.
Adams Nuhu, Awutu Senya District Chief Executive (DCE), said the district was positioning itself for mechanised farming, and that already it was exporting pineapples abroad.
He took a swipe at the Ghana Commercial Bank, Barclays Bank and National Investment Bank in his jurisdiction, for failing to contribute to the celebration of Farmers' Day when proposals were sent to them.
He said although these are banks which benefit from the Assembly's Common Fund, they never saw the need to support the Farmers' Day celebration.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu Senya, David Nana Larbi, thanked the organisers of the programme for hosting it in his constituency, and impressed upon his constituents to take the education of their wards seriously.
The Central Regional Director of Agric, Mr. Justice Amoah, called on agric officers to work hard to justify the government's investments in mechanised agriculture.
In a related development, the GNA reports that Dr. Godfried Osei Bonsu Twum, Akuapem South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has advised farmers to always re-invest part of their earnings, in order to increase production, local consumption, and export.
He said this would also enable the country increase its foreign exchange earnings to step-up development efforts.
Dr. Osei Bonsu said this at Pakro near Nsawam, during the 25th National Farmers Day.
Mr. Edmund Kwabena Nkansah, a 46-year-old worker at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, was adjudged the Overall Best Farmer.
He has 60 acres of plantain farm, 45 acres of citrus, 11 of acres coconut farm, 15 acres of maize, four acres of mango, 80 guinea fowls, 40 local goats and 64 sheep.
Mr. Nkansah, who hails from Darmang Ahwerease near Nsawam, took home a bicycle, bags of fertilisers, a water pump machine, Wellington boots, cutlasses, a spraying machine and a certificate as his awards.
Dr. Osei Bonsu also called on chiefs in the municipality to offer lands for the youth to start farming, instead of travelling to the cities searching for white-collar jobs.
He commended the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) for re-gravelling several roads, and providing training to over 500 farmers in the municipality.
Dr, Osei, however, called on farmers, who had benefited from MiDA's credit facility, to repay their loans to enable others to also benefit.
Mr. Kwaku Minta Fordjour, Akuapem South Municipal Director of Agriculture, said child labour in agriculture was becoming an issue, and should not be tolerated, adding that in future, it would be a criterion in the selection of award winners.
Other award winners were Ms. Mary Djan and Jonathan Kissi, both maize and cassava farmers, who became second and third municipal best farmers, also received awards and certificates. - GNA
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