Founder and President of the Atta Mills Institute, Samuel Koku Sitsofe Anyidoho has described the Farmers Day celebration as an event to forever remain the legacy of late President Jerry John Rawlings.
It is recalled that the nationwide event was instituted by then Rawlings-led Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1985 and has since been observed every first Friday in December.
Organized and celebrated under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD), it is used to recognize and appreciate the substantial contribution of farmers and agriculture production to the socio-economic development of the country following the 1983 famine.
In this regard, the former NDC communicator believes, the event will remain as one of the lasting legacies of late JJ Rawlings.
According to him, the Farmers Day celebration has seen some changes over the years. He recalled how the first award ceremony held in Osino in the East Region some 36 years ago saw the Best Farmer of the Year awardee receive two machetes, a pair of wellington boots and a pre-set radio which was then valuable.
That is in contrast with the recent years’ awards where for instance the 2020 overall best farmer, Solomon Kwadwo Kusi was presented an amount of Gh¢570,000 which is equivalent of $100,000, marking the enormous improvement in the award scheme towards socio-economic development and the global climate change.
The transformation in the celebration a ground he indicated farmers will forever be grateful to JJ Rawlings for, and thus used the opportunity to commend all farmers for their hard work and dedication to producing farm products amid feeding and helping in nation building.
Below is Koku Anyidoho’s full statement:
He burst onto the scene between May and June 1979, left in September 1979, returned on the 31st of December, 1981, and remained till 2001.
It was in the heady days of his second appearance on the national stage as the leader of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) that brought in its wake unprecedented drought and hunger.
His name was Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings and he led the nation for 19 long years.
How can I forget the epithet “Rawlings Chain”, which referred to the deep starvation-induced trenches around our necks? “Rawlings Salad” which refers to some green leaf which was the most readily available to feed scores of families. Those were really excruciating times in Ghana!
The revolutionary spirit ignited the flame of Farmers Day, and that flame remains burning in the soul of the nation as a day set aside to pay deserving respect to the gross importance of the farming and fishing industry to the socio-economic growth of the Republic of Ghana.
Instituted in 1985, in the aftermath if the food crisis of the preceding 2-3 years, Farmers Day has survived from the PNDC days into its 36th year of existence, and has spanned the leadership of President Rawlings (late), President Kufuor, President Atta Mills (late), President Mahama and now President Akufo-Addo.
In spite of the fact that our fourth republican democratic dispensation continuous to wear very rancorous partisan garbs, successive governments have NOT had the effrontery to scrap the Farmers Day celebration/national holiday−ample testimony that the Day has come to stay till eternity.
Records have it that the first ever Farmers Day was celebrated in Osino, Eastern Region, where the drought of 82/83 was most severe, and the very first recipient of the Best Farmer award received two machetes, a pair of wellington boots, and a pre-set radio. Phew!!! Of course, in 1985, such a price package most certainly meant a lot to the recipient.
As night follows day, and as day follows night, deeply embedded in the cycle of life is the unavoidable existence of death because this world is not our home–we are just passing through.
I recall, in my sobbing moments of deep grief when I lost my dear mother over 28 years ago, how a consoling voice told me, “when we were coming into this world, God asked all of us a final question whether we would agree to die and return to give account of our stewardship on earth.
“Those of us who agreed to return to give account of our stewardship are the ones God allowed to come into earthly existence. The only thing God did not tell us is the exact time He would ask us to return to Him. Those who said they would not return to give account of their stewardship were not allowed by God to come into earthly existence. Koku, your mother agreed to return to where she came from, and her time is up so she is gone.”
So, Jerry John Rawlings agreed that he would return to give account of his stewardship; his departure day arrived on November 12, 2020 and he left us!
As we celebrate another Farmers Day, Jerry John Rawlings would be able to boldly give account of his stewardship as President of the Republic of Ghana, and point to Farmers Day as one of his lasting legacies.
As we celebrate our farmers and fishermen in this era of fighting to save our climate, it is my fervent prayer that we shall all be awake to our individual and collective responsibilities as far as saving the environment is concerned.
Illustrious sons and daughters of our soil and waters, we say a BIG AYEKOO to you all for your hard work and dedication to feeding us and helping build the nation.
President Jerry John Rawlings, farmers and fishermen of Ghana shall forever be grateful to you for giving them a Special Day to be honoured and celebrated for their toil and sweat, in their desirous nationalistic quest to continue to contribute to the socio-economic growth of the nation.
Brothers and Sisters, that Day of giving account of our stewardship on the earth realm shall surely come: what would our story be, when the Day comes?
JJ has done his; let us do ours!
May the soul of Jerry John Rawlings continue to rest in perfect peace.
Shalom!!!
