The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) PLC last Friday presented the ultimate prize money of GH¢1million to the 2022 National Best Farmer, Nana Yaw Sarpong Siriboe.
This is in fulfilment of its long-standing commitment to the annual National Farmers Day celebrations held on December 1 of every year.
Nana Siriboe, who emerged as the National Best Farmer at the 38th Edition of the National Farmers’ Day Awards ceremony organised in December 2022 in Koforidua in the Eastern Region, is investing the prize money in the construction of the Siriboe Agritech Training Institute, a training centre to train the youth in agriculture especially in technology transfer, sustainable farming ideas and best practices in farming.
Testament
At a ceremony to present the prize money, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, noted that honouring the country’s farmers since 1985 through the National Farmers Day celebration was a testament to its collective recognition of the significant role farmers played in national development.
“We have our farmers to thank for our sustenance through the food we eat, raw materials for industry, jobs along the agricultural value chain and substantial earnings from export annually.
The recent adversities of COVID-19, Climate Change and the Russia-Ukraine War and their combined impact on the global economy, particularly hikes in food inflation, highlight the need to prioritise matters of food security and resilience,” he said.
Dr Acheampong said that also reinforced the importance for greater national investments in agriculture and a conscious effort to incentivise our farmers.
“In this regard, the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), the title sponsor of the National Farmers Day celebrations deserve special commendation for consistently sponsoring Farmers Day for decades and providing the ultimate prize to the National Best Farmers every year,” he said.
In recent years, the MD said ADB had repositioned itself as the Bank of Choice when it came to agricultural lending and provision of other related support including advisory services.
Commitment
For his part, Nana Siriboe thanked the bank and the government for their support and commitment to agriculture in the country.
Sustainability
Nana Siriboe said to ensure continuity and sustainability of the youth mentorship roadshow and farmers’ capacity project which would be launched in a few weeks time, he had created the office of the National Best Farmer 2022 in Juaben in the Ashanti Region.
A dummy cheque for GH¢1million was later presented to Nana Siriboe.
Source: myghanadaily
