BY: Lambert Coffie | Voltaonlinegh.com |
The Volta region is playing host to the rest of Ghana this week for the celebration of the 35th National Farmers Day slated for Friday, December 6, 2019 at the Jubilee Park in Ho.
And as prelude to the occasion, a National Agricultural Fair has opened at Jubilee Park to showcase the various agricultural exploits from all 16 regions of the country and also provide avenue for networking and knowledge sharing among key stakeholders in agriculture value chain such as, as farmers, aggregators, processors, input dealers, researchers, policy makers and implementers.
Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Monday launched the fair on the theme; “Enhancing Small Scale Agriculture Towards Agribusiness Development,” with a call on stakeholders to provide appropriate feedback on the various government policy initiatives and interventions aimed at maximizing the enormous potential of agriculture.
He said the government was focused on modernizing agriculture, and moving it from subsistence to commercially viable venture, by mainstreaming the use of technology in the sector through the establishment of Agriculture Mechanization Services Centres (AMSEC), and production of hand-held farm implements to remove the drudgery of farming.
“Complementing these interventions in the quest to transform and modernize agriculture through the construction and rehabilitation of dams, warehouses and feeder roads,” he added.
Touching on the fisheries sector, the Vice President noted that government was constructing 10 landing sites along the coast and would also provide over 5000 outboard motors to fisherfolks in the coming weeks to boast fish production in the country.
He thus, urged the youth to take full advantage of these initiatives, including the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD), Rearing for Food and Jobs, among others to venture into agribusiness for a sustainable livelihood.
On his part, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto said the agriculture sector has seen tremendous growth under the Nana Addo led government as result of the strategic interventions made to boast the sector.
The effects of these interventions, he noted has reflected in the increased yield of some produce, including maize, whose importation has seized in the last two years.
More later…
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com
