Farmers in the Upper East Region of Ghana are highly devastated by the smuggling of subsidized fertilizers and other farm implements from the government.
The farmers who cannot get these fertilizers have to make purchases from the open market at steep prices and this has become a worry.
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Chief James Adawini, President, Tono Irrigation Cooperative Farmers Union speaking on the challenge said in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, “It is difficult to get fertilizer in the region, especially in the Tono area. The last consignment of fertilizers were some 1,003 bags and that was not enough for us.”
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According to him, farm inputs provided by the government to support the Planting for Food and Jobs policy at subsidized prices are being smuggled over the border for sale. “The government provides us fertilizers and farm inputs at cheaper prices. They supply them to input dealers whom we buy from but within a day of their arrival, these dealers surprisingly run out of stock. Fertilizers meant for us are smuggled and sold at higher prices over the border and that is a threat to our food security.”
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He noted that market fertilizers are expensive and one hardly gets the varieties needed for a bountiful harvest. “The planting for Food and Jobs Policy under which these subsidized fertilizers are being sold is to increase food production in the country but that is not happening. We got food in abundance last year because of the policy but if the smuggling is not resolved, there will be hunger.
He appealed to the government to rather supply these fertilizers directly to the cooperative unions of farmers rather than using input dealers as middlemen to curb the incidents of smuggling.
Farmers in the Upper East region have missed the fertilizer application period for their crops because of smuggling. Farmers are supplied subsidized fertilizers from the government to support the Planting for Food and Jobs agenda but because of smuggling, they now have to purchase fertilizers from the open market between Ghc200 and Ghc220 per bag, which is outside the means of many.
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Information from Happy98.9FM’s Upper East Regional correspondent, Gaspard Ayuureneeya reveals a task force set up by the Regional Minister has arrested some fertilizer smugglers and are awaiting prosecution.