As the nation celebrates the contribution and efforts of farmers today, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana seems not too happy with the government’s prioritization of the ceremony.
The association feels the government has been more interested in the pomp and pageantry of the event hence neglecting the actual challenges of farmers in the country.
Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association, Bismark Owusu Nortey maintains that although the association is not against the ceremony to recognize the effort of farmers, they are unhappy about the over-emphasis and prioritization given to the ceremony to the detriment of perennial challenges of farmers.
He argues that over the years the government has just been paying lip service to the critical needs of farmers affecting their livelihoods.
On the day of honouring farmers, Peasant Farmers are demanding that the government goes beyond lip service in matters relating to the challenges of farmers and accord them the same attention it gives to ceremonial events.]
“We seem to focus more on the ceremonial aspect of recognizing farmers whilst we are neglecting the key challenges that are confronting farmers in this country,” the Executive Director of Peasant Farmers Association said interview monitored by The High Street Journal.
He continued, “Over the years we always highlight the perennial problems that our farmers are facing. Issues around access to infrastructure, and financing are major issues that day in and day out we hear the government paying lip service to them. We should have seen more action from them rather than just doing ceremonial events to award them.”
This year’s National Farmers’ Day is the 40th edition which started with a weeklong agricultural expo. The theme for this year’s celebration is Building climate-resilient agriculture for sustainable food security.
The celebration for this year took a different turn as the government cancelled all regional-level events for a national event which will take place tonight at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.
Awards will be presented across 16 categories, including the prestigious titles of Overall National Best Farmer, Best Livestock Farmer, Best Female Farmer, and Best Physically Challenged Farmer.
