By Christine Naadu Lartey
Tema, Dec. 05, GNA — Thirty-eight-year-old Miss Irene Doe has been named the 2025 best farmer for the Tema West Municipality and the Best Crop Processor.
Miss Doe, who is a single mother of two, has been farming for more than 20 years.
She told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after receiving her awards that she did not progress very far in education and realised that she needed to create a source of income for herself.
Miss Doe said she started by processing tuo zaafi powder and expanded it to the production of tom brown, oblayo, and other products.
She indicated that at one point, she received additional training at the municipal level, which helped her upgrade her skills, turning her into a resource person for the Agriculture Department in Tema West, where she trains various groups and the unemployed.
She mentioned some challenges faced in the sector as rising food prices due to galamsey (illegal mining) activities and transport fares.
Mr Ludwig Teye Totimeh, the Tema West Municipal Chief Executive, said that this year’s theme for the 41st Farmers’ Day Celebration, “Feed Ghana, Eat Ghana, Secure the Future,” aligned perfectly with the government’s Feed Ghana agenda.
He explained that the agenda focused on increasing local food production, encouraging the consumption of Ghana-grown food, and protecting natural resources for future generations.
Mr Totimeh said the call to feed Ghana was a challenge to everyone, not only farmers, to increase production by using modern and sustainable farming methods.
He noted that although Tema West was mostly urban, agriculture continued to thrive through backyard and container gardening, adding that this was evident from the various displays they inspected, which included crops, poultry production, and aquaculture.
Mr Totimeh said the assembly had continued to play a leading role in promoting food production and strengthening household food security in line with the theme.
He said in collaboration with the Fisheries Commission, his outfit carried out monitoring visits to beneficiaries under the Aquaculture for Food and Jobs Programme to assess progress, offer technical guidance, and ensure best practices.
The Agriculture Department engaged in a wide range of activities this year which included crop and livestock production, market enumeration, extension services, crop demonstrations, fisheries and aquacultural production, meat inspection, training for butchers, disease control, and outreach programmes such as anti-rabies vaccinations.
He added that the department had also increased public education on container gardening through their radio sessions.
Mr Michael Harry Ekow Yamison, the Chairman for the occasion, said the government aimed at modernising agriculture to make it more productive by enhancing crop production, expanding cashew development, and boosting staple food production to strengthen food security, and reviving the poultry industry.
Again, the government believed in promoting the blue economy to protect the livelihoods of people in the fisheries sector and to support Ghana’s participation in international trade, he said.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Sawer/ Christabel Addo