Mrs Afagbedzi-Adjabeng(second from right) presenting the key to the tricycle to Mr. Tetteh
A 44-year-old employee of the Babel Estate Development Company at Otinibi was last Friday adjudged the overall best farmer in the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipality.
In recognition of his feat, Mr Martin Addy Tetteh, a father of five, received a brand new tricycle, agro chemicals, assorted farm equipment and protective gears.
His farm has 10 acres of cassava, eight acres of plantain, four acres of maize, pepper, okro, 20 stands of pawpaw, half acre of sugarcane, 35 local birds and piggery.
Nine other people were honoured at the ceremony including the Assemblyman of Oyarifa- Teiman, Mr Daniel Owusu, as the first runner-up while the Municipal Chief Executive’s (MCE) special award for backyard farming was received by Bishop Kwami Hodasi of the Methodist Church.
The MCE, Mrs Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi-Adjabeng, speaking at the ceremony urged property owners and corporate institutions to invest in rain harvesting technologies.
That, she explained was the only way to keep farmers in the municipality in business as well as make water available to livestock, for domestic use and an all year food production.
The MCE urged residents to adopt strategies to benefit from the Planting for Food and Jobs programme, adding that the assembly was initiating moves to improve the mechanisation and promote commercial block farming.
Mrs Afagbedzi-Adjabeng said 114 farmers had been registered to cultivate 72.6 hectares of maize and 19.6 hectares of vegetables.
The MCE stated that the introduction of rearing for food and jobs programme would cover the poultry and livestock sector, adding that the revamping of the national buffer stock company would ensure that excess grains were bought from the farmers at a guaranteed price during the bumper season.
She commended government for the prompt action on the fall armyworms invasion in the municipality and assured that everything possible would be done to keep the worms from the farms.
Mrs Afagbedzi-Adjabeng urged the youth to channel their energies into growing more food by venturing into commercial farming along the value chain to propel the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda.
The MCE commended the award winners for their feat and urged other farmers to double their efforts to be crowned winners in the next edition.
BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU
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