The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has expressed some disquiet over the current distribution of awards at the National Farmers’ Day. The Association believes that the current award scheme favours only a few farmers out of the many farmers who equally deserve recognition and awards.
Speaking to Samuel Mbura on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East, the National Project Coordinator of the Association Charles Nyaabah encouraged the government and organisers of the annual programme to ensure equity in the distribution of the awards.
“The idea of the Farmers’ Day itself is not bad. Our concern has to do with the skewness of the award itself. You will see the country gather more than 6 percent of the awards and give it to less than 10 percent of farmers. If you take this year, for instance, the Overall Best Farmer took 600 hundred thousand Ghana-cedis, a trip to Israel and a house to be located at his location of preference. There were other people who competed for the same position, they did not get it and they made them Best Regional Farmers. What have they given them? they have not given them a pesewa,” he lamented.
He mentioned that the current award arrangement makes competing at the district level more enticing than at the regional level. He suggested that organisers of the celebration allow the farmers at the regional level to compete and be awarded at the regional level and allow those who are interested in the national awards to compete at the national level; a situation he said would restore dignity to the regional competitors.
Additionally, Mr. Nyaabah claimed that the award process has been fraught with political inclinations citing the 2020 National Best Farmer, who sang the chant of the President, “4 more 4 Nana” after he won the award. Mr. Nyaabah explained that the situation suggests that the farmer who won the award had political biases toward to ruling party.
He said until the political interference is stopped, deserving farmers would continue to be ignored.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
