By Michael Teye Amartey
The 38th edition of the National Farmers Day is set for Koforidua. The theme for the celebration is; ”Accelerating Agricultural Development Through Value Addition’.
The celebration kicked off with a National Agricultural Fair on Tuesday, 29th November, 2022.
The last day of the National Agricultural Fair would be celebrated with a Grand Durbar and Awards ceremony where President Akufo-Addo, will confer national honors on best-performing farmers.
There will be similar celebrations at the Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts across the country.
ADB 13th National Farmers Forum
Meanwhile, the 13th National Farmers Forum by the Agricultural Development Bank, ADB has been held in Koforidua. The program which brought together about 30 Farmers and Agriculture Officers across the country, sought to educate them on the need to add value to their farm produce. This will help reduce post-harvest losses and create employment in the agricultural sector.
Speaking on Accelerating Agricultural Development through Value Addition, the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Moses Anim noted that the Ministry is collaborating with relevant stakeholders to improve upon the fisheries sector by developing new fish products that can be exported on a larger scale.
According to him, the improved fish processing technologies and centers will help to ensure the production of safe and quality fish that meets international standards for export and domestic consumption.
The Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank, Alhaji Yakubu Tali reiterated the need for the buffer stocking function of the National Food Buffer Stock Company to be efficiently activated to enable it stock enough food for the country.
The global challenges according to him present a perfect opportunity for the agricultural sector to reposition itself for growth. He, however, assured all stakeholders of the bank’s preparedness to support farmers financially to help them add value to their produce which will go a long to boost the country’s economic growth.
The National Programme Coordinator of Ghana Agricultural Sector Investment Programme, Klutse Kudomor in an interview with GBC News emphasized the need for farmers to be assisted financially to enhance their production and improve the quality of their farm produce to meet international standards.
