The Kwahu West Municipal Director of Agriculture, Ms. Emelia Nortey, has advised farmers to add value to their produce to enable them market them locally and abroad.
She noted that before market bargaining power could be achieved there was the need for individual farmers to come together to have a common decision to determine the price of their produce.
Ms Nortey was addressing the 28th Municipal Farmers day celebration at Apradang under the team "Grow more food, Strengthen farmer base organization for market place bargaining power", where 21 selected farmers including two extension officers were honoured.
They received items including wellington boots, Weedicide, insecticides, spraying machines, Television sets, cloth and roofing sheets with the municipal best farmer going to a 47- year- old, Nana Anim Agyei, from Kwahu Jejeti.
Ms Nortey said growing more food did not mean to cultivate the land using all the modern technologies without processing them to add value to the produce.
She noted that the Food and Agriculture Development Policy Document (FASDEP) and the external policy of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) recognizes the need to deliver extension service to small-scale farmers who faced the challenges of accessing input, credit and market for their products.
Ms Nortey therefore encouraged farmers to form sustainable groups such as farmer based organizations (FBOs) that would empower them to participate in the decision making process.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Alex Somuah Obeng, in an address, said the government was supporting farmers in the municipality, including subsidizing of fertilizer, improved seeds and insecticide which had led to the increase in cocoa production and other food crops in the country.
He said there could be no development in the country without peace and advised the people to tolerate each other’s view during and after the December polls.