Tarkwa — million sponsored by the Agriculture Development Bank while Theophilus Ezenrane Ackah from Nzulezo, in the Western Region, who was the first runner-up, received a horsepower tractor head trailer, a set of implements, and a boom sprayer.
His award was sponsored by the Ghana Exim Bank.
Kwaku Yeboah Asumah from Kintampo South, the Bono East Region, the second runner- up, received an MF tractor head, trailer, and set of implements sponsored by Stanbic Bank.
The event held at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) auditorium, Tarkwa, in the Western Region was a marked departure from previous celebrations where all activities were done in one space.
A number of farmers and fishers were also awarded prizes under the cocoa, coffee, sheanut, aquaculture, fisheries, physically challenged, livestock, and national best female farmer categories.
The awards night on the theme "Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience", celebrated the hard work and dedication of our farmers and fishers, who are the backbone of our food system and economy.
It also reflected on the importance of the agricultural and fisheries sectors to national economic development and also review their performance.
Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, speaking at the ceremony said the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) was a smart strategy to transform the agriculture value chain of the country, assuring that "we are on the right path."
He said about 1,600 farmers have benefited from a variety of machinery and equipment imported from Brazil and the Czech Republic adding "by the Grace of God, the country would work hard to make it possible."
The PFJ, the Vice President noted, has assisted over 1.5 million farmers, resulting in significant increase of some staples especially maize which increased from 1.8 metric tonnes per hectare in 2016 to 3.3 metric tonnes by 2022, while rice production, also increased from 2.9 metric tonnes to 4.5. metric tonnes per hectare.
Ghana's experience on the agriculture front, in the past six years, Dr Bawumia explained had demonstrated government's unwavering commitment to transform the sector and place it on a sound footing for accelerated development.
The PFJ, he said, had scored notable successes since 2017, despite the global economic challenges including COVID pandemic, wars, disruption of supply chains, achieving average growth in the sector between 2017 and 2022, six per cent, from 2.9 per cent in 2013.
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The Vice President indicated that the country has doubled its agricultural growth, meaning it was doing something right, adding, what is needed now is to double efforts to enhance food security, increase job opportunities across the agricultural value chain and support industries with raw materials."
Dr Bawumia stated that Ghana cannot afford to use old ways of farming in this 21st century that is why it is advocating the adoption of smart innovations like drones and artificial intelligence to optimise growth and expand opportunities across the agricultural value chain.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Brian Acheampong, assured that with PFJ, Ghana would be food secured, self -sufficient and resilient by 2028, stressing " agriculture cannot continue to be business as usual."
"If we want to achieve a sustainable, resilient food system that assures food security in the face of future shocks, we need a food system that is interconnected with all government agencies and agricultural value chain actors," he added
