President John Mahama
nearly missed the national Farmers’ day celebration yesterday as the
Falcon 900 eX Presidential Jet on which he
was scheduled to travel to Sefwi Wiawso in the Western Region via Kumasi
developed a technical problem.
That was just after the
President had finished a prayer meeting with some pastors, including
internationally acclaimed T.D. Jakes and Archbishop Nicholas
Duncan-Williams of Christian Action Chapel International.
Mr.
Mahama and his entourage were supposed to leave Accra in the early hours
of yesterday for Kumasi with the plane and continue to Sefwi Wiawso by
road to grace the occasion and honor farmers who had excelled in their
respective areas of operation this year.
Due to a technical
hitch, the plane could not make the journey and another flight had to be
arranged for the President and his retinue to go.
The program,
which was under the theme, ‘Eat What You Grow’, was originally scheduled
to begin at 10:00 am, but the presidential team arrived at about 1:00
pm and had to apologize to the gathering.
The President explained
the reason for his late arrival at the venue saying, ‘We had a
technical problem with the plane that we were coming with.’
Due
to the incident, he indicated that he and his entourage had to
‘disembark and wait till another plane was secured to bring us.’
Angry
Farmers DAILY GUIDE gathered that majority of farmers and fishermen
who thronged the Sefwi Wiawso College of Education park for the event
were disappointed.
Most of the farmers were not happy at the late start of the program.
Commendation President Mahama commended the farmers for their contributions towards national development.
George Asamoah Amankwah of Europa Farms in the Brong-Ahafo Region was adjudged the National Best Farmer for 2014.
The 49-year-old father of three has been farming for 17 years now.
Amankwah
has a 129- acre maize farm, 6,800-acre cocoa plantation, 20-acre pepper
and okra farm,6,000-acre plantain farm, a 20-acre oil
palm plantation, 147 cattle and three fish ponds in which he breeds catfish and tilapia.
He
has 22 staff and 50 casual workers. In his acceptance speech, Mr
Amankwah expressed appreciation for the honor bestowed on him.
He
called on government to consider outsourcing the tree planting
component of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA)
program to private people as the private sector, he observed, had shown
the capacity to do a better job over the years.
The National Best
Farmer will have as his prize, a three-bedroom fully furnished house
sponsored by the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and a pick-up
vehicle, among other things.
In all, 74 farmers and fishers were honored for their outstanding contribution to the economy.
Prior to last Friday’s event, the nominees visited some institutions in the Western Region, including the Takoradi Port.
At
the port, Capt James Koranteng, the Acting Managing Director of the
port, said there was dignity in farming and appealed to farmers not to
relent in their efforts at producing to sustain the local economy.
The
farmers also visited the Regional House of Chiefs where they interacted
with the chiefs, headed by Osagyefo Dr Kwamina Ennimil IV.
From the house of chiefs the farmers went to the Naval Base at Sekondi for a sea trip.
The award winning farmers later visited the Takoradi Thermal Plant.
The
Falcon 900 EX Presidential Jet, the purchase by the erstwhile Kufuor
administration of which engendered much debate and widely condemned by
the National Democratic Congress (NDC)—then in opposition—arrived in the
country in August 2010, almost two years after the NDC assumed power.
It
came to replace the 37-year-old Fokker 28 aircraft famously described
as the ‘flying coffin’ which was used by former President Rawlings.
The
National Farmers’ Day celebration, which was instituted in 1985, is
aimed at recognizing and rewarding hardworking farmers for their
contribution to national development.
Government has since 1988 set aside every first Friday in December as a national holiday to honor the nation’s gallant farmers.
Source: http://ghanavibes.com
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