The Ghana National Association of Cocoa Farmers has criticised the organisation of the recently held national Best Farmers’ Day celebration.
National Spokesperson for the Association, Nana Yaa Asantewaa, claimed that the celebration and previous ones organised have turned into a political activity where persons who are affiliated with the government are awarded.
Se disclosed this in an interview with host Kwabena Agyapong on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM.
Nana Yaa Asantewaa indicated that they boycotted the celebration because the selection process was not credible, transparent, and did not reflect the true representation of hard work.
The award winners who are selected, she lamented, are not real-time farmers but ‘’political farmers’’ who are awarded because of their affiliation to the government.
”What will we do there? The Farmers Day celebration is no longer credible or transparent. Political farmers are now being honoured rather than genuine farmers who have dedicated their lives to farming. They do not respect us. They do not value us as farmers. Those who received awards are political farmers. We do not know them. We don’t know what the selection process was or how the winners were chosen,” she said.
She has thus emphasised the need for the media to investigate the matter and demand an immediate response as to whether those who were awarded are the true and genuine farmers who deserve the award. The media should ask the government if those chosen and awarded are farmers. The celebration has been reduced to a political platform. Where were the award winners chosen from? When it comes to elections, Ghanaians vote for those they believe are capable and competent from a pool of candidates, but when it comes to agriculture, we have reduced it to politics and disrespect for farmers.
It is critical to use a transparent and credible process to determine the winners. It happens under all governments, including this one. That is not ideal, and we need to change. The true farmers do not benefit from the Farmers Day celebration. That’s the reality on the ground.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
