2 Donate towards Farmers’ Day celebration
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has received donations from two organisations towards this year's Farmers’ Day celebration.
While the Rainbow Agrosciences Ltd, manufacturers, marketers and distributors of agrochemicals donated agrochemical inputs including pesticides, fungicides, weedicides and insecticides worth GH¢270,000 and a cheque for GH¢30,000, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) donated 100 bags of compost fertilisers.
The donations, made in Accra last Thursday, were received by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku.
Support
Presenting on behalf of his company, the Technical Manager of Rainbow Agrosciences Ltd, George Selassie Ocloo, said the cheque was intended to support the government's flagship agricultural programmes, while the agrochemical inputs were to be distributed to Ghanaian farmers.
He said they had, over the years, supported the ministry in so many ways, including collaborating with them under its flagship programmes, adding that they recognised the ministry as a key stakeholder in the industry.
“We give this as part of our corporate social responsibility to give back to society and support the ministry’s work,” he explained.
He said there was a gap in the country's accessibility to quality agrochemical products, and that his products were the best to fill that gap.
On his part, the Country Representative of IWMI, Professor Kohinde Ogunjobi, said it was important to practice agriculture in an environmentally sustainable and friendly manner.
He said their fertilisers, which were developed through a series of research, had been tested and proved very efficient.
Shared responsibility
Receiving the donations, Mr Opoku expressed his gratitude to the organisations, adding that all Ghanaians had a responsibility to ensure agriculture was on the right track so that the benefits to Ghanaians would be substantial.
He gave the assurance that the products would go straight to the farmers who were meant to be the beneficiaries.
He called for farmers to be properly empowered so they could deliver to the satisfaction of everyone.
“We need the farmers because it is based on their strength that all of us survive,” he said.
