Government urged to channel subsidised fertilisers to farmer groups

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has called on the government to channel its subsidised fertilisers through farmer groups and associations for subsequent distribution to members to avoid smuggling.

Subsequently, the association called on all farmers, the public and civil servants working with institutions handling subsidised fertilisers to serve as watchdogs to provide timely information on any hint of smuggling to the security agencies.

The National President of PFAG, Mr Abdul-Rahman Mohammed, made the call last Tuesday at a press briefing held to deliberate on the increasing rate of smuggled subsidised fertilisers in the country.

The government, as part of its vision to increase agricultural production, subsidised fertilisers for smallholder farmers in the country.

The subsidy means the farmers will pay 50 per cent, amounting to GH¢75 of the price of a bag of fertiliser which cost GH¢150.

In January 2019, two trucks loaded with bags of fertilisers meant for the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme were impounded when the drivers of the trucks tried to cross the Paga border into Burkina Faso.

Each of the two trucks was carrying 2,000 bags of (25kg) PFJ-branded fertilisers, bringing the total to 4,000 bags that were being smuggled to the detriment of the farmers in the Upper East Region.

Also in August, the police arrested six persons at Ogorme, a suburb of Somanya in the Eastern Region, for smuggling 4,000 bags of subsidised fertilisers.

Mr Mohammed said the estimated total number of smuggled fertilisers as of July 2019 stood at 99,400 bags valued at about GH¢7.4 million.

The association has called on authorities to publish the names of all smugglers and impose stringent sanctions to serve as a deterrent to others.

Investigations

“We also call on the Special Prosecutor’s Office to investigate all smuggling cases and bring the culprits to book,” Mr Mohammed said.

He said the fertiliser subsidy programme under the PFJ in 2017 had benefited many smallholder farmers as they were able to expand their farms and could afford fertilisers at a reasonable price in the 2017 and 2018 farming seasons.

Mr Mohammed said the high rate of consistent smuggling in 2019 had made it difficult for the farmers to access the fertilisers, and as a result, many of the farmers relied on the open market fertilisers at a cost of GH¢150.

Commendation

The association commended President Akufo-Addo for calling on the security agencies to arrest any culprit who sabotaged government policies, especially those who were into fertiliser smuggling.

The Head of Programmes, PFAG, Mr Charles Kwowe Nyaaba, said his outfit had to calm farmers in the northern regions who had threatened to demonstrate on the issue, calling on the government to act quickly to avert any problems.

A Board Member of PFAG, Mr Wefia Addo Awal Adugwala, representing the Western and Central regions, urged the government to intervene on the issues because some persons were sabotaging its policy on agriculture.

Another Board Member of the PFAG, Mr Mugiss Badigamsi Abdulai, said government policies on agriculture had increased the interest of the youth to engage in farming, but the incidence of smuggled fertilisers could discourage many prospective farmers. — GNA