The 2010 Best Farmer of the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District in the Central Region, Mr. Isaac Agyiri, has called on the government to reintroduce agriculture into the curriculum of basic schools across the country.
In a remarkable display of community support, Mr. Agyiri — who is also the founder and CEO of Showboy Farms — recently handed over a fully cultivated 10-acre maize farm to Hemang Senior High School in the Hemang Lower Denkyira District.
This initiative, funded entirely by Showboy Farms, began two months ago when Mr. Agyiri, popularly known as Showboy, approached the school authorities with a proposal to cultivate maize and other food crops on their land to support the school’s feeding programme. The school readily accepted the idea, and Mr. Agyiri covered the full cost of seedlings, labour, and other inputs to make the project a success.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Agyiri — who was also adjudged Best Farmer in 2020 in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District — explained that the project aligns with the Feed Ghana initiative championed by former President John Dramani Mahama. He added that the Showbouy Foundation is committed to supporting basic and second-cycle schools in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa and Hemang Lower Denkyira Districts by helping them establish school farms to boost food security and economic sustainability.
Mr. Agyiri advised schools to embrace school farms as a means of reducing the cost of feeding students. He further appealed to the government to reintroduce agriculture as a core subject at the basic school level to cultivate early interest among pupils and prepare them for advanced studies in agriculture at the secondary level and beyond.
He also urged the government to appoint agriculturally inclined individuals as Ministers for Food and Agriculture to better address the needs of farmers. Additionally, he called for the timely supply of farm inputs to schools and farmers to boost food production and ensure that inputs do not end up being diverted for resale.
The Assistant Headmaster of Hemang Senior High School, Mr. Petiafo Ephraim Kanor, commended Mr. Agyiri’s generosity and urged other schools to allocate parts of their land for farming projects. He added that the school has put in place a supervision and monitoring team to ensure the farm’s success.
Some students also shared their excitement about the project, noting that it has equipped them with practical farming skills and contributed significantly to the school’s feeding programme.
Credit: Agyei Kweku Mensah
