Farmers Day

On Friday 6^th November 2020, the Denkyembour District Assembly in collaboration with the Department for Agriculture organized a ceremony for the celebration of the 36^th Annual Farmers Day celebration in Soabe, a town within the community. The celebration which was under the theme ‘Ensuring Agriculture Development under COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities’ saw a lot of dignitaries grace the occasion.

In attendance was the District Chief Executive; Honourable Seth Ofosu Birikorang, the District Coordinating Director; Mr. Mark Addo, the District Director for Agriculture; Mr. Seth Yeboah, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Akwatia Constituency; Mr. Ernest Yaw Kumi, Assembly Members from the various electoral areas, Heads of Departments, Nananom, various institutions and Farmer Based Organizations.

The chairman for the occasion, Barima Amoah Boateng II, was called to give his introductory remarks. He was grateful to be selected to be the chairman for the ceremony. He also expressed his gratitude to the district assembly, all assembly members, and the Agriculture department for organizing such a ceremony. He also stated that, the government should put more resources into agriculture because it is the backbone of the economy. He wished everyone well and prayed for a successful program.

The District Director for Agriculture was called upon to deliver his address. He first of all expressed his gratitude to Nananom, the DCE, heads of departments, assembly members and all others for honouring the invitation to grace the occasion. In his address, he stated that COVID-19 has affected many agricultural activities within the district hence the theme for the celebration. He however thanked the Government for the implementation of Planting for Food and Jobs program and the Planting for Export and Rural Development program which the district has been massive beneficiaries. He also outlined some challenges they face during their line of duties. Some of the challenges included inadequate funds to run the office, inadequate extension officers among others.

There was a short cultural and musical display by students in Soabe and ‘Soabe Abe Nkosuo’ group respectively. The District Chief Executive and all other dignitaries inspected all the exhibits from the various farmer organization and individual farmers. Some of the exhibits included harvested cocoa, maize, palm nuts, plantain, cassava among others. The Oil Palm Research Institute located at Kusi also exhibited the various types and species of oil palm fruits to the District Chief Executive and Nananom.

The District Chief Executive; Honourable Seth Ofosu Birikorang was called upon to give his address. He first of all thanked Nananom, assembly members, heads of departments, the various institutions and the general public for taking times out of their busy schedules to grace the occasion. He also thanked the government for an effective implementation of Planting for food and Jobs program and the Planting for Export and Rural Development program that the district has benefitted from. He also informed the public about the ongoing construction of the One-District One-Factory that the district would benefit from. He introduced the Parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party in Akwatia Constituency and pleaded to the general public to vote for him in the upcoming December polls. He also urged everyone to maintain peace and unity during the elections.

The program continued with the presentation of awards to the award winners for the day. There were awards given to the best farmers for the various crops such as Best plantain farmer, best rice farmer, best maize farmer, best citrus farmer, best oil palm farmer, best livestock farmer among others. In all twenty-two (22) people were awarded. The ultimate of it all was the Elder Osae Sakyiamah from Apinamang who won the overall best farmer for the district. He was awarded with 1 motorized tricycle one full piece of Men’s Kente, 1 Swiss Mex knapsack spraying machine, 2 pairs of field boots, 5 cutlasses, 1 Kings cooking oil, Radio set and a Certificate. He expressed his gratitude to the assembly for honoring him with the award and promised to work hard. He also encouraged his colleague farmers to put in their best efforts in all agricultural activities for the development of the nation.

The Chairman for the occasion Barima Amoah Boateng II, gave his closing remarks at the ceremony. In his remarks, he expressed how happy he was to witness such a smooth and gracious occasion. He also congratulated all the farmers who won awards and encouraged all the other farmers to put in their best.