The General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) is calling for a comprehensive review of the National Farmers Day celebration.
The annual event which seeks to award hardworking farmers across the country has been criticized for its seeming irrelevance.
The celebration was instituted in 1985 to honour and celebrate the nation’s hardworking farmers across the country.
[contextly_sidebar id=”BdFyxCQ8rnbTXLsJmtikLy3stuGKb2KO”]Some have argued that despite 30 years of celebrating farmers, the agricultural sector is bedeviled with surmountable challenges.
The General Secretary of GAWU, Edward Karewe, told Citi News, the annual event needs a review because it does not inure to the benefit of farmers in the country.
Mr Karewe argued that some of the awards given to the farmers such as certificates and cutlasses are needless and of little importance to farmers in Ghana who are struggling to reap the benefits of their hard work.
He suggested that government must align the celebrations to critical national policies which will “revolutionalize agricultural production in this country.”
“For instance, how do we explain to Ghanaians that the Farmers Day celebration has led to increase in agricultural production? Is there someone who can show us that it’s worth continuing to celebrate Farmers Day?” he asked.
In a related development, some vegetable farmers in Accra have challenged government to provide them access to 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.
The vegetables farmers say if the basic amenities are provided, they will utilize them in the production of their vegetables.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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