A 50-year-old pharmacist was adjudged the 2009 best farmer in the Sunyani Municipality.
For his prize, Mr. Joe Bennet, proprietor of Joe Bennet Pharmacy in Sunyani received a motor bike, spraying machine, a carton of key bar soap,
three cutlasses and a pair of Wellington boots.
Mr. Bennet who has been in farming for the past 10 years has a 55 acres of cocoa farm, six fish ponds, 35 acres of oil palm plantation, a number of cattle, sheep, goats and 20 acres of orange plantation.
Other 21 deserving farmers received several prizes ranging from television sets, bicycles, key bar soaps, Wellington boots, cutlasses, radio
sets, wheel barrows and wax prints.
Addressing the farmers, Mr. Kwasi Oppong Ababio, Municipal Chief Executive, commended them for their hard work in ensuring national food
security.
He said farming was an important economic venture and advised the unemployed youth to engage in it whilst the government worked hard to create more jobs.
The occasion coincided with the inauguration of a 90 member anti-bushfire volunteer squad.
Fifty four year old Kofi Adoma of Chiraa was
adjudged the best farmer in Sunyani West District.
He received as his prize four bars of key soap, a knapsack sprayer, a piece of cloth, a cutlass, a pair of wellington boots, a table top deep freezer and a certificate of merit.
At the ceremony held at Dumasua, Mr. Christian Oppong Brenyah, from Tettehkrom emerged the second best and took home a table top fridge, a piece of wax print and a knap sack sprayer as his prize.
Mr. Ruskin Joshua Amponsah from Nsoatre was adjudged the third best farmer and received as his prize a knap sack sprayer, a pair of wellington boots, a piece of wax print and a 21 inch colour television set.
Twenty seven other deserving farmers received as their prizes pairs of Wellington boots, bars of key soap, cutlasses and certificates of merit.
Mr. Osei Asigbey, District Executive, noted that the "cutlass and hoe farming" was a primitive way of farming that benefited only the farmer and his family and not the majority of the population.
Hence the introduction of the government's ground water development project had enabled farmers to draw water from constructed wells to stop the dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
He said government had also decided to subsidize some fertilizers such as ammonia and urea in order to reduce the cost of food production.
Mrs. Joyce Takyi, District Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, stated that government was committed to supporting farmers to
produce sufficient and quality food.Eighteen deserving farmers in the Dormaa municipality were honoured at Diabaa near Nkrankwanta.
They received certificates, sprayers, wax print, cutlasses, bars of key soap and wellington boots.
Edward Charles Gyamfi, a 69 year old retired cocoa service staff emerged the overall best farmer and took home two packets of roofing sheets, a bicycle, sprayer, half piece of anniversary cloth, four cutlasses, four
bars of key soap and two pairs of wellington boots.
Mr. Vincent Oppong Asamoah, Municipal Chief Executive, lauded the theme for this year's celebration, saying it would not only boost yield
maximization but would also make agricultural produce from Ghana more competitive on the global market.
He called on farmers, especially cocoa farmers, to refrain from engaging children on their farms as the practice would deny them education and ruin their future.
Highlights of the celebration included the launch of this year's anti-bushfire campaign and the annual ban on setting fire in the bush during
the harmattan.
Mr. Atta Ameyaw, Municipal Fire Officer who announced the ban urged traditional authorities, school children and security agencies to assist in ensuring zero tolerance for bushfires this year.