Nana Yaa Kokor Sakyiwaa III, the queen mother of Amasu, has appealed to the government to construct the Kyeremasu to Amasu road to facilitate the transportation of farm produce to market centres.
She made the appeal at the Regional and Municipal commemoration of the Farmers’ Day ceremony held at Amasu in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region.
According to Nana Yaa Kokor Sakyiwaa III, who is also the Ankobeahemaa of Dormaa Traditional Area, the poor and deplorable nature of the road is impeding and thwarting the smooth transportation and carting of agricultural and food items from the area to the market centres.
She emphasized that the construction of the road would bring major relief to the people of the area, whose mainstay is farming, and would see much improvement in their economic fortunes.
The Queen mother made the appeal against the backdrop of the region’s significant contribution to the country’s food production, particularly in staples of foods, livestock and poultry, as well as tree crops such as cocoa, cashew, mango, and oil palm.
She hoped the government would take urgent action to address the poor state of the Kyeremasu-Amasu road and support the development of agriculture in the area.
Mr. Patrick Dela Newman, Regional Director of the Department of Agriculture, noted that the call to feed and eat Ghana was a call to action in support of farmers to value locally produced food and contribute to reducing the nation’s heavy import bill.
He emphasized that the country spends significant resources importing food items that can be produced competitively locally, which weakens the local market, affects foreign exchange transactions, and undermines the potential of the Bono Region, which remains a major food basket of the nation.
Mr. Newman commended the farmers for their innovation, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to supporting the national food supply, despite climate change, pest and disease pressures and evolving market dynamics.
He celebrated with the farmers not only for their productivity but also for their resilience and encouraged them to adopt improved technologies, best practices, and market-accelerated approaches to enhance productivity and competitiveness.
The Regional Director also commended the participating schools, teachers, and the Municipal and District departments of agriculture for introducing schools practicing agriculture, which has been a significant step towards preparing the next generation of agriculture leaders.
He noted that introducing young people to agriculture at an early age builds skills, reshapes mindsets, and helps sustain the sector’s future and support national efforts towards youth involvement in technology-driven farming and best farming practices to enhance productivity.
