Intervene to avert rising fuel price impact — Peasant farmers appeal to govt
The President of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Weipa Addo Awal, has urged timely government intervention to help farmers maintain production levels as fuel prices begin to rise, with farmers already facing higher costs for ploughing, fertiliser and transportation.
In an interview with Graphic Business, he said the increase in pump prices has a direct impact on production costs, warning that farmers would be forced to adjust output and prices to stay in business.
Mr Awal said tractor services used for ploughing land had become more expensive due to rising fuel costs, making it difficult for farmers to prepare their fields.
He said the cost of transporting fertiliser and agrochemicals from distribution centres to farming communities had also increased, adding to the overall burden on producers.
“The cost of tractor services had gone up and other inputs had also increased because of transportation, so fertiliser, agrochemicals and ploughing costs had all risen,” he said.
Mr Awal said higher costs would force many farmers to scale down production, as they would no longer be able to cultivate as much land as planned.
He explained that a farmer who intended to cultivate 10 acres might now be limited to six or seven acres due to rising expenses.
“When farmers could not cultivate the number of acres they had planned, production would reduce and that would affect supply,” he said.
He said the reduction in output would lead to higher food prices, as farmers would adjust prices to cover their rising costs.
Mr Awal warned that the situation could worsen if fuel prices continued to rise, putting additional pressure on households already dealing with high living costs.
“When production reduced, it pushed up food prices because farmers had to maintain their businesses,” he said.
Food security concerns
Mr Awal said prolonged increases in fuel prices could affect the country’s food security, as lower production levels would limit food availability.
He called on the government to intervene and find ways to reduce fuel costs to support farmers and stabilise production.
“If the trend continued, it would affect food security, so there was a need for the government to step in and help reduce production costs,” he said.
His comments come as major Oil Marketing Companies began raising fuel prices ahead of the first pricing window of April, following new price floors set by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
Fuel prices have already begun rising at the pumps, with state-owned GOIL implementing new rates in line with the NPA’s price floor.
Petrol increased to GH¢13.30 per litre from GH¢12.24, while diesel rose to GH¢17.10 per litre from GH¢15.69. Super XP 95 remained unchanged at GH¢14.35 per litre.
Star Oil also adjusted its prices, with petrol rising to GH¢13.49 per litre and diesel to GH¢17.97 per litre, citing global market pressures and increased demand.
The price adjustments have been linked to developments on the global market, including geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices.
Industry players said the new price floor set by the NPA required companies to adjust their rates to reflect current market conditions.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has also been pegged at a minimum of GH¢10.71 per kilogram under the new pricing regime.
Context
The Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Policies and Research, Kwadwo Poku, had earlier warned that the current situation could worsen if global conditions remained unstable.
He said Ghana lacked the policy flexibility to cushion consumers from rising fuel prices due to constraints under the International Monetary Fund programme.
“If the global tensions continued, fuel prices could rise further in the next pricing window, and the country currently had limited tools to absorb the shock,” he said.