Peter Torkpo has been named the overall best farmer at the 41st National Farmers Day celebration in Obuasi Municipality, recognising his outstanding contributions to both crop production and animal rearing. His farm includes cocoa, palm trees, a variety of vegetables, cassava, and plantain.
Other top winners included Edward Atongotore (Best Cereal – Maize), Harriet Oduro (Best Agro Marketer), Emmanuel Owusu (Best Plantain), Stephen Osei Boateng (Best Root and Tuber – Cassava), Charles Nkrumah (Best Vegetable Farmer), Akwasi Amankwah (Best Tree Crop – Oil Palm) and Hakim Adamu (Best Poultry Farmer). The rest are Stanley Oppong Ofori (Best Pig Farmer), Yaw Frank (Best Backyard Farmer), James Owusu (Best Cocoa Farmer), Eugene Coffie (Best Youth Farmer), Hannah Preprah (Best Non-Traditional Agric Farmer), Faith Annor (Best Technical Staff), Salam Barikisu (Best Woman Farmer), and Justice Abban (Runner-Up, Overall Best Farmer).
The Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Faustilove Appiah Kannin, highlighted the national theme, “Eat Ghana, Grow Ghana, Secure the Future,” as a call to strengthen local agriculture and protect Ghana’s food security. She urged residents to prioritise local produce and encouraged farmers to register with the Feed Ghana programme. Hon. Appiah Kannin also appealed to traditional leaders to make land available for young farmers while emphasising the need to curb illegal mining, which damages arable land and water bodies.
She further called for investment in small-scale processing units, adoption of improved seeds, irrigation systems, and the transition to climate-resilient, semi-mechanised farming. Support from institutions such as AngloGold Ashanti, rural banks, and private partners was acknowledged.
Municipal Director of Agriculture, Mr. Yaw Donkor Jnr., encouraged farmers to adopt modern farming techniques, engage with the Agriculture Department for guidance, and form cooperatives to market produce at fair prices.
In his acceptance speech, Peter Torkpo expressed gratitude to God and the Assembly and appealed for government support in providing reclamation machines for farmlands affected by illegal mining. For his achievement, he received an Aboboyaa tricycle, a 65-inch Samsung television, a knapsack sprayer, boots, cloth, a radio, keysoap, weedicide, and cutlasses.