The Paramount Chief of Battor Traditional Area, Togbe Patamia Dzekle VII has noted with worry, the rate at which elderly people are rather involved in commercial farming instead of the youth who are physically capable of doing farming activities.
Togbe Patamia who was speaking at the district Farmer’s Day held in Aveyime said the youth must take up farming seriously instead of leaving it to the aged in the district
Torgbe Patamia Dzekle VII noted that it was necessary for the youth to take interest in farming activities now to help them to be financially independent.
“It is sad to see the old people in the District engaged in farming activities while the youth do nothing,” Togbe Patamia Dzekle VII said.
He also urged the District Assembly to improve the awards ceremony and make it more attractive next year.
The DCE for North Tongu District, Osborne Divine Fenu addressing the farmers noted that investing in agriculture will provide answers to our increasing energy need in the form of bio-fuels, adding that there is now the tendency of moving away from fossil fuels such as petroleum to renewable energy sources.
Bio-fuels are a source of renewable energy produced from farms and farm by-products.
“Products such as ethanol and vegetable oils are combustible and can be used to run engines that will ultimately power industries. Imagine the potential of an agricultural sector that is providing a considerable source of energy to an economy such as the Ghanaian economy,” Mr Fenu said.
Mr Osborne Divine Fenu stated that it is obvious that, with the majority of the people in the District engaged in agriculture, farming, and fishing are the potential for agribusiness, and the District’s abundant arable land and water bodies are a great advantage to us, and we must capitalise on it.
He said agribusiness will eventually become the penacea for poverty reduction in the District.
“I am therefore making a passionate appeal to the youth to venture into agriculture and take advantage of the opportunities for agribusiness to become financially independent,” Mr Fenu said.
The agriculture sector, Mr Fenu noted has been the main economic backbone of the country since independence and still contributes significantly to the nation’s development by way of employment generation, food security and revenue for the country.
“It is indeed refreshing to highlight that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government even before coming to power has one of its campaign promises, which are the One village One Dam, One District One Factory, anchored on agribusiness. In this District, we are blessed to have a number of factories all in support of agribusiness development and we have the Sino Ethanol Manufacturing Company Limited among others,” Mr Fenu said.
Mr Osborne Divine Fenu therefore encouraged the private sector to show interest in government policies to be supported to expand to achieve government objective of the IDIF.
He noted that under the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) the Department of Agriculture worked with the Regional Agricultural Department to give farmers tree crop seedlings (coconut- 865, mango- 1180).
For Planting for Food and Jobs, he said, farmers in the North Tongu district were given access to sources of subsidised inputs including maize, rice and various vegetable seeds as well as fertilizers.
“I will once again urge the youth to take advantage of the business opportunities in the agriculture value chain to contribute more to the country’s developmental growth agenda. This will improve their entrepreneurial ideas to be self-employed,” he said.
