The Ghanaian government says it has no funds to celebrate the 2018 Farmers Day

Ghana’s Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto has said that there are inadequate funds to be used for the celebration of the 2018 National Farmers Day Celebration.

He said this when he briefed Ghana’s Parliament on preparations for the national celebration.

He said that due to the limited amount of funds available to them, they are largely depending on private donors.

He explained that the budget allocation since 2016 till date has not changed hence their constraint.

“The National Farmers Day as the name connotes is a big event that has serious budgetary implications. The constraints of the national budget have been a major drawback to this year’s preparations given that some budgetary allocations of GH¢2million ($411500) approved for the fiscal year 2016 and 2017 was maintained for 2018.”

“In effect, the Ministry has had to rely heavily on sponsorship of corporate Ghana and other development partners to ensure a successful celebration,” Dr. Afriyie Akoto told the lawmaking chamber.

He argued that the budget approved for the celebration did not reflect the status of agriculture as the lead sector in Ghana’s economy.

“I trust therefore that in reviewing the 2019 budget estimates for the Ministry of Agriculture, this matter will seriously engage the attention of the House and receive favourable consideration.”

The 2018 National Farmers Day will be held in Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region. It is on the theme; ‘Agriculture: Moving Ghana Beyond Aid’.

Dr Afriyie Akoto said the theme shows the “premium placed on agriculture” by the current government and by “implication the farmer who’s the focus and target of government’s policies and programmes.”

The National Farmers Day is commemorated each year on the first Friday of December to honour Ghana’s Farmers and Fishers as key contributors to the nations socio-economic development.

The programme of activities usually planned for the celebration include:

A National Farmers Forum where the Award Winners are expected to interact with other stakeholders in the sector.