MP show appreciation to farmers
Members of Parliament Thursday paid glowing tribute to farmers and fishermen for working tirelessly to contribute to the growth of the country.
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MPs who contributed to three statements on this year's Farmers Day were unanimous that farmers had helped build a strong economy and contributed to the reduction in hunger and extreme poverty.
Statements by three MPs
The three statements to commemorate the day were made by Mr Stephen Kunsu, MP for Kintampo North and acting Chairman of the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs; Mr Anthony Osei Boakye, MP for Atwima Nwabiagya South; and Mr Samson Abu, MP for Lawra.
In his statement, Mr Boakye said until the discovery of oil and gas, the agricultural sector was the mainstay of the economy, and had not only helped put the country’s economy on a sound footing but also provided employment for millions of Ghanaians.
He, therefore, urged the government to channel a large chunk of the revenue that would be generated from the oil and gas sector into the development of the agricultural sector
Mr Boakye appealed to his colleague MPs to use their positions to help solve the challenges farmers were facing.
Presenting his statement, Mr Abu said there was the need for steps to be taken to make farming a lucrative venture to reduce the retention rate and attract the youth.
“It is important that our farmers are encouraged to remain in agriculture and adopt scientific and modern practices of farming to enable them to increase their production and productivity every season to reduce hunger and poverty,” he said.
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He stated that the NDC government had expanded the block farming and Youth in Agriculture concept in an attempt to create jobs and to enhance food security.
Mr Abu said in spite of those interventions, the agricultural sector was still confronted with several challenges and problems, including non-availability or late arrival of farm inputs, tractors, fertilisers, weedicides, machetes, among other farming implements.
"Mr Speaker, to see ourselves as a serious country, mindful of the fact that agriculture has a central role to play in promoting growth and poverty reduction in the Ghanaian economy, we need to remind ourselves of the daunting challenges confronting our farmers and find lasting solutions to these challenges," he said.
For his part, Mr Kunsu called on the Ministry of Roads and Highways to invest in feeder roads and the agro-processing industry to assist in the preservation of surplus food.
He also asked the government to come up with a comprehensive post-harvest losses strategic framework with a sustainable funding.
Contributions of MPs
Contributing to the statement, Mrs Della Sowah (Kpando) said irrigation was inevitable for sustainable food production and urged the government to put programmes in place to address the problem of irrigation in the sector.
“If majority of our farmers are still uneducated, then we have a very big problem. As parliamentarians, we need to pay more attention to our farmers,” she said.
The MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo, asked the government to move away from ceremonial celebration of farmers and rather put in place sustainable measures to solve the numerous challenges they faced.
“Honouring our gallant farmers should not be an event but be seen in the policies and programmes of the government,” she said.
The MP for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem, Nana Dr Ato Arthur, called for a change in the name of the Farmers Day to Agriculture Day, arguing that the current name had marginalised the contributions of fishermen.
“If agriculture is comprised of farming and fishing, why should the day be called Farmers Day?” he questioned.
Dr Arthur asked the government to factor in the problems of climate change and take measures to mitigate such problems for the country to continue to produce abundant food and fish to feed the people.
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