Mr. Chairman,
Members of the Council of State,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Representatives of our Development Partners and NGO’s,
Chiefs,
The Chairman of the Board of ADB,
Distinguished Award Winners
Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is with much pleasure that I welcome you on behalf of the President Mr John Agyekum Kufuor and on my own behalf to the celebration of the 23rd National Farmers Day.

This event has been instituted to enable us pay tribute to the outstanding contribution of our farmers and fishermen to our national development efforts.

This year’s celebration has great historical significance for us because it is being observed in the last month of our Golden Jubilee anniversary celebrations. Ghana is 50, and no better theme for this cause would have been more appropriate than the theme “ Ghana @ 50: PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT”.

As you all know, agriculture continues to be the largest sector of the Ghanaian economy, contributing about 36% of the total GDP and employing some 50.6% of the economically active population.

Furthermore, the sector contributes about 52% of the total foreign exchange earnings and about 10% of Government revenue, whilst providing adequate food for the populace and raw materials to feed our agro-industries.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is worth noting that The New Patriotic Party since assuming the reigns of power in 2001 has worked very hard to bring about real growth in the agricultural sector. The sector is growing steadily from 2.1% in 2000, to 4.4% in 2002 and 6.5% in 2006.

As a result of this hard work, I am proud to acknowledge that Ghana is reported by the FAO to be the only country south of the Sahara that has already reduced hunger by 50% up to 2006, ten years before the target date of 2015.

The country is now self sufficient in the production of many of our staple foods including cassava, yam, maize and plantain. Strenuous efforts are still being made to achieve self sufficiency in rice, meat and fish production.

Mr Chairman, on this day of celebration, let me take this opportunity to congratulate our gallant farmers and fishermen for their invaluable contribution towards the eradication of hunger and poverty since independence some 50 years ago.

Through the hard work of you the farmers and fishermen gathered here and throughout the country, the nation has not experienced hunger since 2001. You therefore rightly deserve to be properly recognized and acknowledged.

Distinguished Invited Guests, despite these sterling achievements, Government’s effort to create an environment for sustainable growth and development in the agricultural sector continues to be constrained by a number of challenges.

Prominent amongst these are the rigid land tenure system, over-reliance on erratic rainfall, inadequate marketing and post-harvest management, poor access to inputs, limited financial services, low use of modern technologies and an aging farm labor force.

Mr Chairman, to deal with these challenges, Government, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, has just revised its Food and Agriculture Sector Policy (FASDEP) to modernize agriculture.

This will provide the critical linkage between agriculture and industry based on the application of science and technology and sustainable land management and environmental practices.

Other initiatives include Commodity Expansion Programmes for mango, cashew, pineapple, poultry and rice and sustainable Horticultural Development and small scale irrigation development.

Also, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) in October this year, signed the Entity Agreement for the implementation of the Agriculture Transformation Programme.

The programme will involve the development of the commercial capacities of Farmer Based Organizations. This programme will also improve delivery of business and technical services to support the expansion of commercial agriculture, improve post-harvest handling and value chain services and irrigation development.

Mr. Chairman, I am happy to report massive developments in the Cocoa sub-sector. The nationwide free spraying of cocoa farms which has reduced the incidence of pests and diseases, the rehabilitation and replanting of old cocoa farms, the road rehabilitation works in cocoa growing areas to facilitate movement and transportation of both humans and produce and the recent upward price adjustments and timely payment of bonus, are aimed at making farmers enjoy the tangible benefits of their hard work and attract the youth into cocoa production.

In the fisheries sector, the Ministry of Fisheries is revamping the industry in the form of infrastructure improvement, investment enhancement and development of aquaculture, whilst providing support to small-scale fishers so as to address the problem of dwindling marine and fresh water fish stocks.

To this end, the survey, feasibility and design of two fishing harbours and ten landing sites commissioned by the Ministry of Fisheries have been submitted. Funding arrangements are also far advanced for the construction of the projects to start.

Furthermore, the Ministry has completed arrangements for the construction of Ice plants and refrigeration facilities in related fishing communities in the country and construction work will begin early next year with funding from the second Spanish Protocol Agreement concluded by Government.

Mr. Chairman, at 50 years and beyond, modernization of agriculture is necessary to propel the nation to a middle income status by the year 2015. My expectations of the sector in the coming years include a significant expansion in agro-based industries and value addition along the production and marketing chain.

I also expect adequate attention to be paid to quality standards to satisfy both the domestic and the highly competitive international market.

Ladies and Gentlemen, these expectations require a strong and vibrant public-private partnership. However, Foreign Direct Investment into the agro-industrial sector has been slow, even though it is acknowledged that Foreign Direct Investment usually follows domestic investment and growth rather than leading it.

In view of this, we need to boost domestic investment in the agro-industrial complex. It is against this background that I wish to challenge our farmers as well as the private sector and financial institutions to proactively develop and enable access to adequate resources.

To this end, the Capital Venture Fund, the Export Development and Investment Fund, the Micro-Finance and Small Loans Scheme, Private Enterprise and Export Development Fund (PEED) are some initiatives and facilities that ought to be available.

At this juncture, ladies and gentlemen, I want to comment on the recent drought and subsequent flooding in the three Northern Regions. The combined effect of the drought and floods was devastating.

For instance, it is estimated that about 97, 244 hectares of cropped farms were destroyed with a potential loss of about 257,076 Metric Tonnes of food. Many roads and bridges linking farming communities were also washed off. About 39 irrigation dams and dugouts gave way. Similarly, houses and other property of many of you including your livestock were lost in the heavy rains.

Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me, on my own behalf and on behalf of the good people of Ghana , to extend our sincere gratitude to all those individuals and organizations who contributed to alleviate the plight of the flood victims.

Mr. Chairman, Government is determined to bring life in the three regions back to normal. In view of the expected shortfall in annual crop production in these areas, Government, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is putting in measures to ensure a more sustainable livelihood until the next raining season and beyond, by providing input support to farmers to re-plant lands vacated by the receding floods.

Government will encourage farmers to do dry season farming using irrigation methods along river bodies and dams and also provide seed support to farmers for planting in the 2008 planting season.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to acknowledge the presence and support of our loyal partners and donors who have, over the years, supported us in growing the agricultural sector of our economy. I thank all those who have always stood by us and also donated generously during the Farmers Day Celebration.

On this note, Mr. Chairman, I wish to express my appreciation to you all for traveling from far and near to join our farmers to celebrate this year’s Farmers’ Day.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year. May God bless all of us.

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