Mr Awintuma Akande, the Upper East Regional Best Farmer, 2022, has advised the youth to go into farming to create employment for themselves and others.
“Go into farming, work hard and at the end of the day you will not regret you did; today I do not need any employment but through hard work I am happy,” he said at the 38th Farmers Day celebration in Bolgatanga.
Mr Akande, who also emerged the Regional Best Farmer in 2012, hails from Tilli in the Bawku West District and took home a Tricycle, mist blower, knapsack machine and a certificate.
He said there was no need for the youth to idle about or run from office to office in search of non-existent white colour jobs when they could start cultivating some crops to make a living.
He, however, pleaded with the government to consider tooling the agriculture sector with equipment and mechanical services to enhance farming activities.
“There are labour shortages in communities and people are not ready to use their energies, which demand equipment and mechanical services to help push the sector forward and improve agricultural production,” he said.
“I have up to a 3,500-acre farm and using labour alone is ineffective. So, the government should tool the sector for the young ones to be enticed to venture into agriculture.”
“Today is the happiest day of my life, not because I am regional best farmer but because, once upon a time, we were buying maize from Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and Techiman in the former Brong -Ahafo Region to the Upper East Region, but today, we are now supplying as a region to all these southern regions and neighboring countries.”
He commended all award winners for distinguished work and urge farmers in general to continue working hard to feed the nation.
Other regional awardees were Mr Adamu Musah Adongo from Bongo, Best Crop Farmer; Chief Issah Bukari from Gentiigah in the Bawku Municipality, Best Livestock Farmer, and Mr Kazigu Pe Asanchera from Kazigu, Regional Organic Farmer.
The rest were Mr Hadi Bala Dangme from Pwalugu in the Talensi District, Best Fisherman; Madam Priscilla Atanga from Kassena Nankana Municipal, Best Sheanut Picker, and Mr John Asigri Anaba from Sumbrungu in Bolgatanga Municipal, Best Agriculture Extension Officer.
This year’s celebration was on the theme: “Accelerating Agricultural Development through Value Addition.”
