Don’t turn Farmers’ Day into a yearly ritual – Agricultural Workers Union

The General Secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Edward Karewe has indicated that the Farmers’ Day celebration is an event worth celebrating annually but should not be celebrated in a vacuum.

According to him, the Farmers’ Day celebration should not keep going on as a ritual which addresses not the challenges of farmers but should evolve into a year-long celebration which sees to the realization of the yearly theme.

“We can’t just celebrate Farmers’ Day as a ritual without addressing what is happening to us as farmers, from production and post-production challenges and issues of market access. For the past 36 years, we have celebrated different themes. But after all these years, have we sought to review how things are done and answer the question, have we achieved the previous year’s objectives?” he asked.

Speaking in an interview with Samuel Eshun, host of the Happy Morning Show aired on Happy 98.9 FM and e.TV Ghana, Edward said, “The Farmers’ Day celebration has become a ritual and a pageantry and we go to sleep without addressing the real problems facing farmers after the day”.

He motioned that it is only when this assessment is done that challenges farmers face can be addressed, leading to massive improvements and growth in the agricultural sector to achieve the planting for food and jobs objective.

He, however, repeated that farmers in the country are worth being celebrated for their immense contribution towards the growth of our economy.

“80% of food production is done by small scale farmers and we need to highlight that and remind them that they can produce to feed the entire country. We need to celebrate Farmers’ Day because it is great and motivates us greatly”.

The 2020 edition of the Farmers’ Day celebration is being held today and is themed: ‘Agribusiness Development under COVID-19 – Opportunity and Challenges.”