The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has defended its decision not to hold a farmers’ day parade on the 40th National Farmers’ Day celebration, which has been replaced with an awards night dinner.
According to the Ministry, the change is intended to present farming as an attractive and appealing career choice.
Speaking to JoyNews, the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Bagbara Tanko, noted that although Farmers’ Day has traditionally been celebrated with a durbar or parade, they decided to take a different approach this year.
“We thought we needed to move away and also make agriculture attractive,” he said.
“We thought let’s move our farmers into a more comfortable kind of environment and let them understand that farming is not just being dirty, but as a farmer, you can also have a good time for life.”
Mr Tanko noted that the awards dinner was designed to present farmers in a positive, prestigious environment, aligning with the Ministry’s broader goal of inspiring young people to see agriculture as a viable career.
However, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has voiced concerns, stressing that the decision was made without sufficient consultation.
The General Secretary of the association, Isaac Pabia, argued that the awards dinner limited opportunities for engagement among farmers.
He noted that the parade provided farmers from all backgrounds with a valuable opportunity to gather in a large, open space to network and exchange ideas, stressing that the awards dinner is strictly by invitation and offers limited networking opportunities for farmers.
“Some of the decisions that are taken without a stakeholder consultation become a challenge. So basically what they’ve done now, what it means is that if you are even a farmer within where the celebration is taking place, but you’ve not been invited, you can’t go near, because I believe it’s strictly by invitation.
“Let’s say if the national one is taking place in Accra, and it is at the Independence Square. Somebody close by can walk in and also observe what is going on, and get a lot more information about farming, and probably that may encourage the person to go there. But to do it in an enclosed space like that with strict invitation requirements, I think it’s not opening up to more people,” he said.
He added that the Farmers’ Day parade can still take place and that if the Ministry wants farmers to feel special, there are many ways to achieve this.
Meanwhile, the PFAG has raised concerns about challenges faced by the country’s agricultural sector and urged the government to shift focus from ceremonial events to addressing critical issues.
According to the association, while it was important to recognise farmers’ efforts through awards, these celebrations have failed to translate into real solutions.
In a statement congratulating farmers on the occasion of the 40th Farmers’ Day celebration, PFAG called for a redirection of resources meant for ceremonial events to address the issues that affect farmers on the ground.
“On this Farmers’ Day, we call on the government to direct resources, attention, and energy toward resolving these pressing issues,” part of the statement read.