The Overlord of Dagbon, Ya Na Abukari II, has praised the National Best Farmer for 2021, 44-year-old Alhaji Mohammed Mashud, who hails from Mion District in the Northern Region.

He said the award was for the people of Dagbon, thus, urged the youth in the area and the country, to emulate the achievement of the national best farmer.

“This award is for the people of Dagbon, and we call on the youth of Dagbon especially, and Ghana in general to emulate him."

Ya-Na Abukari II commended the Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto when he called on him at his Gbewa Palace in Dagbon in the Northern Region on Sunday, 5 December 2021.

Dr Afriyie Akoto is on a tour of the five regions in northern Ghana, and it forms part of phase three of his annual agricultural tour across the country.

Ya Na Abukari II assured the minister of the Dagbon Traditional Council’s readiness to work with his ministry to ensure that the government’s vision for the agriculture sector is achieved.     

He also applauded the government for its Fertiliser Improvement Policy and expressed delight at the benefits that have accrued to farmers in Dagbon.

While congratulating the minister’s reappointment, Ya Na Abukari II lamented that northern Ghana was still lagging behind when it comes to development, noting that it was sad that a greater percentage of arable lands in that part of the country, were left with less attention in terms of usage. 

“I know your reappointment was purely on merit through your good works for Mother Ghana, particularly your excellent performance at the ministry for the past four years,” the Overlord of Dagbon noted.

For his part, the minister said his visit was part of his annual tour of all the 16 regions to interact with stakeholders in the sector.

“I am on a working tour of the five regions to ascertain the progress of the government’s continuous projects in the agriculture sector,” he said. 

According to him, the five regions in northern Ghana were very important when it comes to his portfolio as the agriculture minister.

He gave the assurance that he will continue to ensure that the needed infrastructure and projects to alleviate poverty and boost the country’s agriculture were in place.

“Let me also congratulate the National Best Farmer, who happens to hail from the Mion District in the Northern Region,” he expressed.

In the estimation of the minister, the number of resources allocated to the agriculture sector by the Akufo-Addo administration cannot be matched since independence, adding that this has made Ghana become the “food basket of Africa.”

On the SAPID which is funded by African Development Bank, he stated that this project aims to absorb the youth into the agriculture sector in the five regions. 

“We have picked the Savanna Investment Programme (SIP) to promote livestock farming in the country, especially in the northern regions," he said.

Touching on the One District-One Dam (1D1D) initiative, the agriculture minister said this will help promote farming during the dry season, adding that building warehouses, specifically eight to store surpluses of farm produce, was on course.