Some vegetable farmers in Accra have challenged government to provide them with potable water for their farming activities.
This follows several criticisms against the farmers for using poor farming methods and polluted water from gutters to water their vegetables.
One of the farmers who made the call is Abubakr Seid who has been a vegetable farmer in the heart of Accra for the past 18 years.
He operates right in front of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the country’s national public broadcaster.
He farms on the large tract of land in front of GBC , where he cultivates cabbages , carrots, lettuce , green pepper among other vegetables.
In an interview with Citi Business News , as part of our celebration of Farmers in the Capital , Mr. Seid lamented about the limited access to potable water in Accra.
The Agricultural sector is key to Ghana’s economy , employing close to 60% of the labour force.
In the 2015 Budget read by Minister of Finance Seth Terkper , the agricultural sector is reported to have overtaken the Services and manufacturing sectors in terms of its contribution to the GDP.
The Agric sector in 2014 contributed 5.3% of GDP.
According to Mr. Abubakr Seid it feels good to be appreciated but government must provide them with potable water for their farming activities in the Capital , Accra.
Ghana is currently battling to keep under control a cholera outbreak that has been partly blamed on the farming methods of these farmers.
Mr. Seid said ” the big men” can solve the problem by providing them with an alternative affordable water source for their farming activities.
The theme for this Year’s National Farmers Day celebration is “Eat what we grow”.
The celebration was instituted in 1985 to honour and celebrate the gallant farmers across the country.
By: Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana