Speaking to the Ghanaian Times on Friday as part of activities marking this year’s Farmers’ Day, Ms Ayi said population growth with its accompanying expansion of urban settlements and hous­ing demands had depleted most farm lands that could have been used for cultivation of crops and rearing of animals.

That, Ms Ayi encouraged farmers, especially the youth to consider non-traditional agricul­ture which includes rearing of snails and grasscutter, mush­rooms and also venture into home gardening to augment large scale farming for food security.

The best farmer for the Kpone-Katamanso municipality was awarded to Gertrude Odakar­Pabifio, 69.

She received a tricycle, three pairs of Wellington boots, a knap­sack sprayer, a bag of fertiliser, insecticides, watering can and six cutlasses as her prize.

Mrs Pabifio has 15,000 layers, maize, okro and pepper farms, two canoes for fishing as well as pigs and local fowl farms to her credit.

With 40 years’ experience in farming, Mrs Pabifio said the journey had not been an easy one owing to several challenges she faced but determination, resilience and commitment had translated into her achievement as a success­ful farmer.

The striking challenge, she said, was either lack of access to credit facilities or the high interest rates on loans which demotivated farmers or those who intended to go into large scale agricultural production.

She suggested that, access to soft loans would incentivise other Ghanaians, especially unemployed graduates to venture into agricul­tural vocation.

The Municipal Chief Executive, Samuel Okoe Amanquah, said in the face of diverse challenges ranging from rising temperatures, unreliable rainfall patterns, pest in­festations among others, delivering smart solutions to sustainable food security required conscious inte­grated efforts in technology and innovative approaches to enhance agricultural productivity.

He encouraged the youth to view farming as a source of employment and a lucrative venture as govern­ment rolls out policies to consol­idate efforts towards increased agricultural performance, food security and employment