Survival of the fittest: Visually-impaired rice farmer appeals for support to go back to cultivation
Aduni Achana, 56, has been farming to support himself and the family ever since he lost his eyesight under bizarre circumstances
For a visually impaired farmer in Bonia, a small farming community in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, getting financial support to go back to rice crop cultivation is his greatest wish.
Aduni Achana, a 56-year-old, engages in rice farming on his two-acre farm in the small village within the Tono Irrigation Scheme, despite his inability to see.
He has been cultivating the crop to support himself and the family ever since he lost his eyesight under bizarre circumstances at a youthful age.
Achana’s perseverance to engage in a highly demanding agricultural activity that requires the sense of sight is something that continues to surprise many people far and near.
The amazing part of Achana’s journey in rice farming is how he crosses the open, big canals when going to his farm and how he single-handedly removes weeds from the rice crop on the farm.
“How he is able to differentiate between weeds and the rice crop when controlling weeds on his farm is what amazes me and other people. Even we those who have proper eyesight find it difficult to do that. You would never believe it if someone told you the man is blind.
“I think his ability is divine,” said Emmanuel Awe, a resident of Bonia.
Achana’s hard work is admired not only by members of his community but also by others. The love for his efforts is admired by many beyond his community.
In 2018, Achana won ‘Best Municipal Disability Farmer’ in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality Farmers Day celebration. He was recognized, celebrated, and awarded among 10 gallant farmers for contributing to the growth of agriculture and food production in the area.
“His story is an amazing one for all of us to learn from and not let our limitations stop us from working to feed ourselves”, said Ayaga Abadu, an Agriculture Extension Officer in the Navrongo municipality.
Disaster strikes
Two years after Achana was recognised for his contribution to food production and was spurred to do more, disaster struck.
In the latter part of the rice crop farming season, bush fire spread into Achana’s farm just when he was preparing to harvest and razed down everything.
The disastrous incident not only cost him his entire investment but also knocked him off his feet. Since the incident, Achana has not been able to go back to rice farming, something he has been doing for well over 33 years to support his family.
When the misfortune hit Achana, Senyalah Castro, reported about his plight which got a couple of Ghanaians including the former Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage and the then Kassena-Nankana Municipal Chief Executive, William Aduum, supporting him with food items and cash donations to cater for his immediate needs.
Organisations and departments such as the Upper East regional wing of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations, led by the Regional President, David Aniah, the Department of Social Welfare and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), also got in touch upon hearing the report, to console him and promised to get urgent support for him.
But nearly three years after the promises, visually impaired Achana is yet to receive any form of support from any of the organizations.
When this reporter visited him at home in 2023 to see how he was doing and to also present a small token from three benevolent individuals from Cameroon who had seen the report, Achana cried that he was yet to receive any form of support from the organizations as promised, to enable him go back to rice cultivation.
He revealed that all efforts to get the support promised him by individuals and organizations have proven futile.
“None of the organizations have said or done anything to assist me after they visited and left. I was told to come to an office at the Municipal Assembly the following week for some documentation and possible support, “he said.
“So, I went there exactly the following week with my son, but we did not hear anything from them. We followed up again and again, but I was told to bring a Ghana card before they could go ahead with any documentation. By the time I went to register for the Ghana Card, the exercise was over. I did not get the Ghana card. I later went to the office about three more times but there was no progress so I stopped going there,” Achana added.
He said if support is given him, he will immediately go back to farming rice, which is the source of livelihood for him and the family.
The story of Achana is just one of the many challenges many rural farmers face. Unfortunately, there are not readily available supports for such farmers to access to get back on their feet when disasters strike.
For agriculture extension officer Isaac Ayaga Abadu, not less than 10 farms are lost to fire every season, especially during the dry harmattan periods.
He has therefore urged the government to take a serious look at providing timely support to cushion farmers in times of such disasters. He believes such intervention would encourage the youth to go into agriculture.
Reporting by Senyalah Castro in the Upper East Region
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