Medical practitioner wins Ashanti regional best farmer award

Effiduase (Ash), Nov 5, GNA - Dr Kwame Antwi, a 47-year-old medical practitioner, was on Friday adjudged the Ashanti regional best farmer at the regional farmers' day celebration at Effiduase in the Sekyere East district.

Dr Antwi who had farms at Kyereansa in the Amansie East District received a corn mill, a sewing machine, a radio set, six cutlasses, two wellington boots and a full-piece GTP wax print.

Twenty-two other farmers who excelled in cash crop, food crop, aquaculture and poultry production, integrated agriculture and agro-forestry received bicycles wax prints, radio sets, Ghetto Blusters and certificates.

The Sekyere East district Farmer's day was integrated into the regional celebration with Madam Alice Puoridem of Kumawu winning the best district farmer award.

She received a colour television, spraying machine, one pair of Welling boots, three cutlasses and a piece of wax print.

Twenty-four others were honoured at the district level.

Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti regional Minister, said farmers in nine districts of the region benefited from credit assistance, under the Ministry of Food and Agricultural (MOFA) budgetary support project, which amounted to 1.150 billion cedis.

He also said 707,193,870 cedis were disbursed to 15 implementing districts in the region between 2002 and June 2004, under the Root and Tuber Improved Programme (RTIP) of MOFA.

Mr Boafo said these measures indicated that government had been fair, consistent and sensitive to the plight of farmers since it came into power adding that "Government will continue to do so with the objective of creating wealth in this country and thereby combat poverty".

Mr Isaiah Opoku Boateng, the Sekyere East District Chief Executive, commended the government for constructing new markets in the district, which had enable farmers to easily sell their produce. 5 Nov 04