Michael Foli Jackidy
Hoe (V/R), Nov 9, GNA – Madam Beauty Gogah, a 52-year-old farmer from Hodzo, a community in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region, has been honoured as the overall Best Farmer at the Ho Municipal’s version of Farmer’s Day celebration held at Hoe.
The recognition highlighted her exceptional dedication and contribution to agriculture.
Among the notable winners was Mr. Evans Gbedzivor, a 55-year-old physically challenged farmer from Takla Tokor, who received the Best Physically Challenged Farmer Award.
In total, 10 outstanding farmers were celebrated for their efforts, in an event on the theme: “Building Climate-Resilient Agriculture for Sustainable Food Security,” emphasizing the importance of adapting farming practices to climate change.
Madam Gogah expressed her gratitude to the agricultural department and the Municipal Assembly for their continuous support.
She encouraged fellow farmers, especially women, to engage fully in farming, noting that agriculture provided significant opportunities for financial stability.
She also called on the government to introduce soft loans for farmers, citing financial constraints as a major challenge.
Mr. Godwin Agbenyegah, the Municipal Agriculture Director, underscored the significance of this year’s theme. He announced that the government, through the Food System Resilience Project in partnership with GMet and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), had developed an early weather warning system.
The system can predict weather patterns even at the district level, providing crucial information to help farmers plan effectively.
The Municipal Assembly has also made strides in promoting cash crop cultivation. Through the Planting for Export and Rural Development programme, the assembly distributed 35,000 coconut seedlings and 20,000 mango seedlings to 231 farmers across the municipality.
Monitoring efforts have shown that 85-90 per cent of the seedlings are thriving, with expectations to boost coconut production by 45 per cent by 2028, significantly enhancing the local economy.
Furthermore, 1,150 farmers have been registered and mapped on the Ghana Agriculture and Agribusiness Platform (GhAAP), covering 24,500 acres of farmland. The initiative aims to facilitate access to agricultural inputs, improving productivity and sustainability.
Additionally, six farmer groups, comprising 410 men and 290 women, received training in rice parboiling and using rice for pastries and pizza. The department also partnered with New Age Agro to support 200 farmers in eight communities with input credit, including fertilizers and herbicides.
Mr. Agbenyegah highlighted the department’s ambitious vision to increase agricultural production in the municipality by 300 per cent by 2028, starting with a targeted 60 per cent boost in the yield of staple crops and vegetables by the end of 2025.
Mr. Divine R. K Bosson, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), commended the government’s initiatives aimed at transforming the agricultural sector. He noted the
implementation of various flagship programmes, including Planting for Food and Jobs, Planting for Export and Rural Development, One Constituency One Warehouse, One Village One Dam, and the support for poultry and livestock production.
He emphasized that these programmes demonstrate the government’s dedication to supporting farmers and improving their livelihoods.
However, Mr. Bosson acknowledged the challenges facing farmers, such as climate change, limited access to finance, poor road networks, high costs of agricultural inputs, and post-harvest losses.
He pledged the government’s continued commitment to addressing these issues, including utilizing road construction equipment supplied under the DRIP programme to improve farm access roads, benefiting farmers and boosting local economic activities.
Togbi Ametsikor IV, the Chief of Hoe, advised farmers to avoid practices that could lead to bushfires, which are detrimental to their farming efforts.
The National Fire Service personnel were present at the event to educate farmers on the causes, effects, and prevention of bushfires.
Madam Beauty Gogah, a mother of five, manages an impressive variety of crops across her extensive farmlands. Her farming portfolio includes 28 acres of maize, five acres of rice, two acres of yam, 20 acres of cassava, 20 acres of cowpea, eight acres of okra, one acre of coconut, half an acre of sugar cane, four acres of palm plantation, one acre of groundnut, and citrus trees.
For her exceptional achievements, she received a tricycle, a knapsack sprayer, a raincoat, Wellington boots, four cutlasses, two containers of weedicides, two insecticides, and a certificate of recognition.
Madam Gogah’s success story serves as an inspiration, encouraging other farmers, particularly women, to pursue farming as a viable and rewarding profession.
GNA