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AGRICULTURE

61-year old widow adjudged 2018 Municipal best farmer at Asante Akim South

A 61-year widow, Margaret Wirekoa from Dwendwease in the Asante-Akim South Municipality in the Ashanti Region emerged the Municipal best farmer at the 34th farmers’ day held at Dwendwease.

Date Created : 12/11/2018 1:29:52 AM : Story Author : Daniel Akwasi Nuako/Ghanadistricts.com

Madam Wirekoa owns 55 acres of citrus, 12 acres of plantain, 8 acres of cocoyam, 6 acres of cassava and a variety of crops.

She has a large livestock farms in three different communities within the municipality.

She was honoured with one Tricycle (Aboboyaa) 36 coloured flat screen television, fridge, knapsack spraying machine, four cutlasses and Wellington boot.

The other 24 farmers listed for awards also took home, bicycles, television, fridges, cutlasses, knapsack spraying machine and among others.

Speaking at the programme, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Asante Akim South, Frimpong Yaw Yeboah said, Agriculture has been the most dominant sector of the economy of the country since independence. ''We have over the year depend on the sector which provides about 25% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and raw materials base for industrial growth and transformation" He said.

About 64% of Ghanaians are engaged in the agriculture directly or indirectly along the value chain.

He continued that, the local economy of the Municipality is predominantly agriculture.

He said, about 85% of our populace are engaged in agriculture and produce many crops such as cassava, rice, yam, maize, cocoa and oil palm as the main crops.

He gave a background history of the farmers’ day that, the Nation initiated the Nation farmers’ day celebration in 1984 to honour outstanding Farmers and Fisher folks at National, Regional and District levels simultaneously throughout the country.

Mr. Frimpong also used the opportunity to highlight on government various policies and interventions since the NPP assumed power in 2016.

These include planting for food and jobs, planting for export and Rural Development (PERD), the one-district- one factory, Afforestation, One-district-one ware house, Free SHS NABCO, among others.

Beside that he said, the Assembly has also embraced on its own cocoa seedlings production to augment what is been provided by government in some catchment areas like Jusao, Obogu, Ofoase, and Adomfe. The MCE said under the Assembly's cocoa seedling production programme, a total of 75,000 improved cocoa seedlings was raised at Payase and Tokwai Odumase.

These seedlings, according to him have been distributed freely to farmers in the rural communities to complement that of the government to boost cocoa production in the area.

He told the gathering that, the Assembly has facilitated the establishment of a company known as Best Fertilizer Company Limited at Asankare under the One-District One-Factory initiative.

The factory is expected to be in full operation in June 2019 and will process five (5) million litres of fertilizer every year.

The factory can also employ fifty (50) people directly or indirectly to work with when completed.

He made this deceleration when he addressed the gathering at the 34th farmers’ day celebration at Dwenease with the theme: ' Agriculture: Moving Ghana Beyond Aid.

On his part, the Municipal Director of Agric, Mr. Abass, advised the youth to take advantage of the government interventions of planting for food and jobs programme to engage themselves in farming activities to learn a living since farming is a major business.

Madam Wirekoa, the 2018 Municipal best farmer of Asante Akim south on behave of the entire awardees commended the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led administration for their various Agric interventions and thanked the (MCE) for the honour done her as the best farmer for 2018.

In attendance were, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim south Constituency, Lawyer Kwaku Asante Boateng, the Clergy, Traditional authorities, Heads of Departments, Market women, physical challenged, farmers, the general public and a host of dignitaries.