Sale of counterfeit agrochemicals booms at Kejetia terminal
The Kejetia terminal and its surroundings in Kumasi have been identified as the hub of the sale of counterfeit agrochemical products in the country.
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The resultant effects of the nefarious activities of these unscrupulous businessmen, are untold hardship to farmers due to low harvest and possible health hazards to consumers of such farm produce.
The practice also put the lives of farmers and other workers involved in the value chain process in danger as they come into contact with these fake chemicals since they may not have all the necessary information on the precautionary measures to take.
The fake chemicals also cause irreparable damage to the soil as some of the ingredients may be detrimental to the environment.
These counterfeiters have been able to succeed due to the low literacy rate among the farmers, who are unable to detect the differences thus making it easier for the dealers in these fake agrochemical products to succeed in their trade.
Confirmation
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Kwaku Minta Fordjor, who confirmed this to the Daily Graphic explained that Kumasi was becoming the hub for this illegal activity due to its central location, as it was easier to connect to other regions from Kejetia.
Earlier, Mr Frederick Brandford Boampong, the Programme Manager for Crop Life Ghana, a non-governmental organisation had indicated at a day’s anti-counterfeiting workshop for stakeholders in the agrochemical industry that some of the counterfeiters had perfected the act such that some of the fake products could escape the scrutiny of trained professionals.
Mr Boampong advised dealers in agrochemical products and inputs to always deal with registered companies that have registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and cautioned farmers to always ensure that all the products they brought were approved by the EPA.
