V/R: 46-year old widow wins Best Farmers’ award in North Tongu
A forty-six (46) year old widow and mother of five (5) children from Deve, a small farming community in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region has been adjudged the overall best District Farmer in this year’s annual farmers’ day celebration recently held at Kpomkpo in the Dorfor Traditional Area of the district. This is the first time a female farmer from the district won the award in the thirty-six (36) year history of the farmers’ day event.
The remote farming community of Kpomkpo where this year’s event was held, attracted a large number of residents and farmers in addition to traditional leaders who also graced the occasion in their numbers. Apart from cultural drumming and dancing that characterized the celebration, there was also an exhibition of all manner of farm produce grown in various parts of the district.
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The ten (10) awardee farmers received items ranging from certificates, knapsack sprayers, weedicides, wellington boots, fridges and wheelbarrows with the topmost awards being a motorbike and tricycle.
District Director of Agriculture for the area, Mr. Peter Heh touched on the major challenges facing agriculture in the district and appealed to custodians of land in the area to reserve lands for agriculture in the district.
According to him, the difficulty in accessing farmlands, high interest and difficulty in accessing loans for agriculture, climate change, disease and pest outbreak, water pollution and most importantly the taste of Ghanaians for imported items, continue to confront the sector’s efforts at agricultural commercialization in the district.
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Mr. Heh said government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has since 2017 taken steps to address food security challenges through its flagship Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) and other initiatives.
The Director disclosed that in 2020 alone, the district has so far distributed 7,970 bags of subsidized fertilizer to 1,660 farmers across the district. The beneficiary farmers comprised of 1,253 males and 407 females.
District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Hon. Richard Collins Arku announced that more than six thousand (6,000) cashew seedlings have so far been distributed to farmers across the district under the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) initiative of government, explaining that the move was to provide alternative cash crop livelihoods for the citizenry.
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The beneficiaries, the DCE said included fifteen (15) interested farmers comprising of fourteen (14) males and one (1) female as well as three (3) communities, all on a total of 150 acres of land.
Mr. Arku disclosed that the district currently has forty-four thousand (44,000) cashew seedlings at MOFA’s designated nursery sites and urged all interested farmers to take advantage of the offer to improve their lot including promoting PERD in the district.
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In all, ten farmers drawn from various parts of the district were honoured. Mr. Lumor Torzo, 65 from Aveyime received the Physically Challenged Award at the event while Mr. Thomas Agbodza, 42 and Madam Grace Aku Aglago, 47, all from Avedotoe were adjudged Best Crop and Livestock Farmers respectively.
The Best Youth Farmer prize went to 43-year old Mr. Timothy Abiawu from Gbetikpo whereas the Best Irrigation Farmer and Chief in Agriculture Awards went to Mr. Isaac Fullah, 42 from Bla and Togbe Agbogidi IV, 51, Dufia of Kpomkpo respectively.
Mr. Evans Ahiadorme, 34 from Podoe was adjudged the Best Agricultural Extension Agent (AEA) with the First and Second Runner-Up Awards going to Messrs Victor Kwao, 42 from Podoe/Tsikpoe and Isaac Sekpeh, 58 from Keseve respectively.
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Forty-six (46) year widow and mother of five (5) children, Madam Mercy Dogah from Deve emerged as the overall District Best Farmer. She took home a brand-new tricycle, a certificate as well as some agricultural inputs and implements.
Madam Dogah has ten (10) acres of maize farm, two (2) and six (6) acres of cassava and pepper farms respectively as well as thirty-seven (37) cattle. Other animals or birds she has include thirty-five (35) Guinea fowls, fifty (50) local fowls and nine (9) sheep. Madam Dogah has a groundnut farm in addition to cultivating one-and-half acres each of Tomato, Garden Egg, Okro and Cowpea. She also has two (2) permanent labourers she pays from her own resources.
The Award Winner attributed her success story to discipline and the strict compliance and adherence to advice from Agricultural Extension Officers. Mad. Dogah urged the youth to go into agriculture, emphasizing that it pays to cultivate the land at all times.
See photos below.
Credit: Akukorku Media Consult
