According to a sad report shared by United Television (UTV), Mr Owusu Kwesi Manu, who was recognized as the Best Farmer by the Asante Mampong Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region on December 1, 2023, is dead.
According to the report, Mr Owusu Kwesi Manu passed away shortly after receiving his award as the Municipal Best Farmer. The late Mr. Owusu Kwesi Manu, who was the head of Kyeiwaa Farms, reportedly died at the Bekwai Hospital on Saturday, December 2, 2023, in the Ashanti Region after a brief illness. This news has come as a shock to many, as Mr Owusu Kwesi Manu appeared to be in good health on the day of his award.
Additional information provided by MyNewsGH states that an autopsy is yet to be conducted by doctors to determine the exact cause of his untimely death.
Who won the national best farmer 2023?
Charity Akortia emerged as the recipient of the prestigious title of the 2023 National Best Farmer during the annual National Farmers Day celebration held in Tarkwa. In recognition of her outstanding achievements, she was presented with a grand prize of GHC1 million, in addition to various other rewards.
Theophilus Ezenrane Ackah, a 46-year-old farmer hailing from Jomoro in the Western Region, secured the honorable position of first runner-up, while Kwaku Yeboah Asiamah, a 58-year-old farmer from the Bono East region, claimed the second place.
During the momentous prize-giving ceremony, Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the indispensable role that farmers and the agriculture sector play in Ghana’s thriving economy. He wholeheartedly commended their unwavering dedication to ensuring the nation’s food security and emphasized the profound significance of Farmers Day in reminding us all of this paramount objective.
“As we celebrate our heroic farmers and co-actors in the agricultural value chain today, Farmers Day must be an occasion to remind ourselves that the new dynamics call for new strategies to realise our goals of food security, resilience, job creation, poverty reduction and prosperity”, he said.
He added that the government by way of strategy has since 2017 through the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative managed to address the threats to food security which calls for more.
“Ghana’s experience in the agricultural front demonstrates the government’s unwavering commitment to transform the sector and place it on a sound footing of accelerated development. These efforts that the government has put in since 2017 have yielded notable success through the flagship programme, planting for food and jobs.
“When you look at average growth rate of Ghana’s agricultural sector between 2013-2016 was 2.9%, but when we implemented the PFJ in 2017, the average growth rate between 2017 to 2022 was 6%. The significant growth rate enhance school food security, increases job opportunities and and supports emerging industries with raw materials“, he noted.
