You are here: HomeNews2006 10 17Article 112304

Business News of Tuesday, 17 October 2006

Source: GNA

Five companies donate towards Farmers' Day

Accra, Oct. 17, GNA - Five companies on Tuesday donated various items and to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in support of this year's Farmers' Day.

They were Crocodile Matchets; Unique Insurance; Prudential Bank; Chamber of Mines and Geoyan Enterprise.

Mr Francis Koranteng, Managing Director of Crocodile Matchets, presented 25 boxes of machetes worth 30 million cedis and a cheque for 10 million cedis to the Ministry.

Mr Victor Kusi-Yeboah, Managing Director of Unique Insurance Company Limited, donated 50 million cedis accident policy for the best farmer and a cheque for 20 million cash.

Mr Eric Ofori, Sales Manager for Geoyan Enterprise, dealers in agricultural machineries, presented an electric corn mill worth 5.5 million cedis while Chamber of Mines and Prudential Bank donated 10 million cedis and 20 million cedis, respectively. Mr Ernest Debrah, Minister of MOFA, commended the "traditional donors" for their continuous commitment to the Farmers' Day activities. He advocated the modernization of agriculture, as the world was making technological strides.

Mr Debrah urged donors to assist the Ministry to achieve its objective and called on insurance companies to insure farms in addition to the services they rendered.

"Our farmers are working so hard but their farms are not insured and when there is fire outbreak, they lose everything," he said. This year's Farmers' Day, which is the 22nd since its inception, would be under the theme: "The Youth Employment Programme: An Avenue for Sustaining Agricultural Development". It will be held in the Ashanti Region.

The first Friday of every December has been set aside to honour deserving farmers and fishermen and other people, who have in diverse ways contributed to agricultural development in the country.