Farmers’ Day: Mahama encourages the adoption of modern farming technologies, irrigation, and improved seedlings

President John Dramani Mahama has encouraged the adoption of modern farming technologies, irrigation, and improved seedlings to enable part-time farmers to be productive without necessarily being physically present on their farms every day.

The President reiterated his administration’s commitment to creating an enabling environment that makes farming more attractive and profitable for all categories of workers.

He also said that farming is open to all, irrespective of profession.

He explained that many professionals, including civil servants, teachers and private sector workers, can combine their regular jobs with meaningful agricultural activity.

Speaking during the 41st Farmers’ Day anniversary in Ho on Friday, December 5, he said, “Agriculture isn’t only for the village folks,” he said. “You can work and still be a farmer. Teachers and civil servants can go to work and have farms, and the money from the farm can supplement their incomes.”

The President noted that adopting farming as a secondary venture would not only boost personal earnings but also strengthen national food security and reduce reliance on imports.

He encouraged workers to embrace modern agricultural practices such as irrigation, improved seedlings, and technology-driven systems that allow part-time farmers to maintain productive farms without being physically present every day.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, appealed to corporate Ghana to partner with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to support farmers.

Addressing the 41st Farmers’ Day celebration in Ho in the Volta Region on Friday, December 5, he said there is a renewed national commitment to supporting agric.

“I want to urge Cooperate Ghana to partner with the Minister,” he said.

Earlier, the Minister underscored the importance of timely and accurate weather information to agriculture.

He makes the point that agricultural success today depends not only on land and labour, but on timely and accurate weather information.

“Climate variability and unpredictability are among the greatest risks our farmers face — and responding to these requires systems that generate, analyse, and disseminate data in real time,” he said recently during the Government Accountability Series Session.

He highlighted that the Ministry has made significant strides in transforming Ghana’s agro-meteorological landscape.

Automated Weather Stations (AWS)

He said they have installed twenty automated weather stations across the country under the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMeT). These stations, unlike manual ones, collect data automatically 24/7, ensuring: Higher accuracy and consistency; Faster data transmission to GMeT’s central database; Elimination of manual dependency for readings; Enhanced forecasting and climate modelling for disaster prevention and farm planning.

Out of the 20 Automated Weather Stations, he said, 11 are located in Senior High Schools, where Climate Clubs have been formed to promote environmental literacy and ownership. This does not only provides physical security for the instruments, but also educates the next generation about climate-smart agriculture, he said.

The Automated Weather Stations allow us to provide farmers with precise and hyper-local advisories on rainfall patterns, temperature trends, wind conditions, and soil health – directly influencing planting, harvesting, and fertiliser application decisions.

To integrate and analyse data from both manual and automated weather stations, the Ministry is establishing a Management Information System (MIS). The system will enable real-time analysis, visualisation, and dissemination of weather forecasts to support cropping decisions, food system planning, and early warning mechanisms.

The supplier for the MIS has been shortlisted and the evaluation report has been submitted to the World Bank for approval. Once completed, this MIS will serve as the digital backbone of Ghana’s agro-meteorological intelligence.