Gifty Mbankey, a dedicated farmer and educator who emerged as the first runner-up for Best Farmer of the Year in the Bolgatanga Municipal at the 2024 Farmers’ Day celebration, has acknowledged that while she has reached many of her goals, there is still much more she hopes to accomplish.
With nearly 16 years of farming experience, she explains that it has not only ensured her financial stability but has also allowed her to support others in need.
“I can say I have achieved, but not to the fullest of my expectations. I have achieved a lot,” she said.
According to her, she started farming shortly after completing senior high school with the goal of making enough money to further her education. She noted that she began with just a small plot of land and grew crops such as groundnuts, bambara beans, and beans—staples commonly consumed by her community.
Over the years, her farm has expanded significantly. In 2024, she cultivated 15 acres of maize, 10 acres of groundnuts, 5 acres of early millet, 5 acres of late millet, 2 acres of bambara beans, and 10 acres of rice.
“For the first farming that I did, I started with groundnut, bambara beans, and beans,” she explained. “This year, I did 15 acres of maize, 10 acres of groundnuts, 2 acres of bambara beans, 5 acres of early millet, 5 acres of late millet, and 10 acres of rice.”
Balancing farming with her teaching career has not been easy. Mrs. Mbankey admits that it requires a great deal of effort and time management, but she views farming as her second job—one that provides her with both financial benefits and personal satisfaction.
“It’s not easy, but with the mindset I have now, I know it’s my second job, and it’s helping me a lot,” she said.
Acquiring land as a woman, however, has been a challenging experience. Mrs. Mbankey revealed that she often encounters difficulties when attempting to secure farmland. She stressed that many people view women in farming as challenging traditional gender roles, making it harder for women to navigate the process.
“When you want to acquire land as a woman, if the person is not your friend, forget it. Unless you follow a man there,” she explained. “They’ll just tell you, ‘If you’re a woman and want to go into farming, it means you have money.’ So supporting you becomes difficult. As a woman, if you need people to clear the land for you, they have to charge you. But if you’re a man, they’ll just follow you there and support you. In return, one day, you’ll also support them.”
Mrs. Mbankey also emphasised the financial hurdles that come with farming, noting that purchasing resources such as crop feed often requires buying in instalments to avoid a heavy financial burden.
Despite these challenges, she remains passionate about farming and encourages young women to consider agriculture as a viable and rewarding career. She believes that farming offers more than just financial rewards, providing a sense of peace and satisfaction and allowing individuals to focus on their work and find fulfilment in the process.
“They shouldn’t think farming is for men alone. There is something in farming. Apart from the profit, there’s the pleasure you get. At times, when you get to the farm, there’s nothing on your mind apart from concentrating on your work. So I’ll encourage them to go into farming. It helps. They shouldn’t just sit and say there’s no work. At least, they should start with something, and they’ll get what they want. I encourage all to go into farming so that, at the very least, we’ll have enough food to feed the people,” she said.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Moses Apiah|Bolgatanga|
