Sixty-six distinguished farmers and fishermen in the country are receiving national honours today at the 27th National Best Farmers Awards ceremony currently on-going at Agona Nsaba in the Agona East District in the Central Region. At stake is the ultimate prize of a three-bedroom house for the overall National Best Farmer to be built at a location of his or her choice. Other mouth-watering prizes are ready for the taking for the winners and runners-up in the various categories of the awards. Similar award ceremonies will be held at the regional and district levels in the country. The National Best Farmers Awards ceremony, which was instituted in 1987, is held on the first Friday in December every year with the aim of rewarding deserving hardworking farmers and fishermen for their contribution to the development of agriculture. Anchored on the theme: “Accelerated agricultural modernization for food security and economic transformation”, this year’s awards come off on the heels of the government’s commitment to improve farmers’ ac-agro-processing machinery and irrigation equipment to enhance effective farming and increased agricultural productivity. The government is seeking to rapidly modernize the agricultural sector with the view to enhancing food security, job creation, especially for the youth, and the quality of life of farmers and fishermen. One innovation at this year’s ceremony is that all research institutions in the country will make public their findings on how to increase productivity in the agricultural sector. That is part of the government’s determination to use modern technology to boost food and livestock productivity. Meanwhile, Members of Parliament (MPs) have lauded farmers and fishermen in the country for working hard to be the backbone of the economy over the years, writes Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah. The MPs, however, called for the provision of the needed infrastructure to reduce the over-reliance on natural rainfall for farming activities. The MPs were contributing to a statement made on the floor of the House by the Chairman of the Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, Dr. Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu, to commemorate this year’s Farmers Day, which falls today.