2016 National Best Farmer Receives His Award Prize

By Bagbara Tanko

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoFA), in collaboration with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), has officially handed over the award prize to Mr Robert Crentsil, the 2016 National Best Farmer, at a short ceremony at Gomoa Aprah in the Central Region.

The award prize, 3-bedroom house, is located in Aprah, Gomoa East District, in the Central Region, the place of choice for the 2016 National Best Farmer.

Handing over the keys of the house to MoFA, the Managing Director of ADB, Dr John Kofi Mensah, disclosed that ADB had, so far, delivered the ultimate price of 16 houses to all National Best Farmers, since 2001, when the bank decided to become the main sponsor of the National Best Farmers' Awards programme in Ghana.

The Managing Director of ADB was confident that the provision of the 16 houses to the National Best Farmer Award Winners would motivate Ghanaians to develop interest in farming and agriculture.

Giving details of the award prize, Mr Mensah disclosed that the 3-bedroom house for the 2016 Best Farmer was valued at GH? 400,000, adding that the house comprised basic furnishing, including living room furniture, dining set, beds with mattresses for all three rooms, fully-fitted kitchen and a mechanized underground water system, television set, single door refrigerator and a four-burner gas cooker.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Robert Ankobiah, Acting Chief Director of MoFA, expressed the Ministry's appreciation for ADB's support and long-term partnership in the Agriculture sector in general and in the food security sub-sector.

Mr Ankobia, disclosed that government, through MoFA, would roll out more lucrative initiatives to attract more youth to take part in the Planting for Foods and Jobs programme which, he said, was already seeing positive results since its implementation.

He appealed to other financial institutions to emulate ADB and support the agricultural sector in order to boost the country's revenue for economic development and urged farmers and the youth to see farming as a business and a full time, rather than a part-time job.

Mr Ankobia expressed the hope that the National Best Farmer would use the opportunity to encourage the youth to develop interest in farming, adding that government was ready to support farmers, especially the youth, to see farming as a source of income.

The 2016 National Best Farmer commended MoFA and ADB for inspiring farmers with exciting packages in order to attract more people into farming.

He took the opportunity to encourage his colleague farmers to adopt modern ways of farming by seeking the services of Agricultural Extension Officers as well as other experts in Agriculture.

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