Soybean Farmers Association unhappy with grain export ban

The Ghana Soybean Farmers and Aggregators Association has asked the government to, as a matter of urgency, withdraw the ban on the exportation of grains.

The association has said the ban is not in the best interest of farmers whose livelihoods depend on grain exportation.

The Director of Administration for the Ghana Soybean Farmers Aggregators Association, Abdul Hakeem Issah, was reacting to an announcement by the government to freeze all exportation of some grains.

 “The recent ban on grains cannot solve the problem. And what we are saying is that the situation can still be resolved. It is not bad yet.

Last Monday, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, announced that the government had imposed an immediate ban on the export of key grains, including rice, corn, and soy, in response to an ongoing dry spell that is severely affecting the northern regions of the country.

The move aims to avert a potential food shortage caused by drought-induced crop failures.

The affected regions, mostly in the north, are responsible for about 62 per cent of Ghana's grain production, and the lack of rain over the past two months has raised concerns about a significant shortfall in grain availability.

“With immediate effect, the government is placing a ban on the export of grains including maize, rice, and soya bean until the situation normalises. This measure is essential to ensure the availability of these critical crops on the domestic market.

“Any farmer with stock and interested in selling should contact our district directors across the country, our district aggregators, or the directorate of crops, Ministry of Agriculture. This is to ensure that farmers do not suffer adversely as a result of this ban,” he stated.

Not in farmers’ interest

However, Mr Issah stated that such a directive would not benefit the farmers, particularly those who had worked purposely to export their produce.

He stressed that a combination of the rising production costs of production, the ban, and the government’s plan to purchase grains through district and municipal food departments would significantly reduce farmers’ profitability as they had spent more to produce for the export market but may not get the same prices from the government.

“Some farmers borrowed to produce just for exportation; are they going to receive the same prices from the government who intend to buy from them?

Mr Issah also questioned why the buffer stock initiative had not worked.

 “What we are saying is that buffer stock was created to accumulate grains, grains in the peak season, store them at their warehouses and release those grains during the lean season.

 If this has been done effectively, why should there be a concern and this reaction? If the buffer stock is effective and efficient, there is no need for the import ban,” he stressed.