ADJETEY TOPS ALL (PAGE 3, DEC 4, 2010)

A 60-year-old farmer, Mr Benjamin Adjei Adjetey, from Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region, was yesterday adjudged the national Best Farmer for 2010.
As his prize, Mr Adjetey, who is also the Managing Director of the Neehata Farm at Oyibi near Dodowa, will receive a three-bedroom house to be built at a place of his choice and fully furnished by the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
In addition, Mr Adjetey, who has been in the farming business for the past 37 years, will have a personal insurance cover worth GH¢5,000 provided by the Unique Insurance Company and undertake a trip to the United Kingdom sponsored by the State Insurance Company (SIC), a GH¢4,000 Akuafo Adamfo Life Policy to be financed by the Ghana Life Insurance Company and a Dstv donated by Multichoice.
Mr Adjetey, married with six children, earned the ultimate prize for embarking on a number of agricultural activities, including the cultivation of 166 acres of land, animal husbandry, a rice farm covering 100 acres, 80 acres of maize, 45 acres of mango, 20 acres of groundnuts and seven acres of cowpea.
Mr Adjetey, who has engaged five full-time workers and 100 casual ones, as well as seven family members, on his farm, also has 757 cattle, 122 sheep, 84 goats, 160 guinea fowls and 240 fowls.
The second overall national best farmer prize went to Mr Maxwell Akandem, 42, from the Upper East Region.
Mr Akandem, a graduate from the University of Development Studies (UDS), received a tractor and accessories for cultivating a 493.5-acre farmland, comprising 241 acres of maize, 10 acres each of rice, sorghum, and yam, five acres each of onion and garden eggs, as well as rearing eight goats.
Mr Eric Midose, a 47-year-old farmer from the Kwahu South District in the Eastern Region, emerged the third best national farmer and took home a double cabin pick-up worth GH¢42,000 donated by the Stanbic Bank.
Other significant awards went to Mr Moses Tetteh, 41, from Nkonya in the Volta Region, who had a KIA pick-up for being the best in fishing, while the national best livestock farmer award went to Alhaji Awudu Karim, 56, from the Upper East Region. He also received a KIA pick-up.
Sixty-five other farmers who distinguished themselves in animal raising, fishing and the production of food and cash crops such as cocoa, pineapple, citrus and cashew were also honoured.
They were presented with various items, including farm machinery and inputs.
On behalf of his colleagues, a highly elated Mr Adjetey expressed his appreciation to the government for honouring them and gave the assurance that they would do their best to increase food production.