Charles Nyaaba, Executive Director for Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana
Peasant farmers participating in the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme have raised concerns about how their businesses are slowly dying due to a lack of fertilizers.
The farmers claim their suppliers are unable to resource them with fertilizers because of the government’s inability to pay their debts for the 2021 planting season.
Currently, these farmers claim that their livelihoods are in jeopardy, and that if the government does not address their concerns, they will be forced to stop farming, a circumstance they believe will have a negative impact on the programme.
According to available data, the agriculture industry has seen a commendable increase, and the importance of smallholder farmers cannot be overemphasised after actively participating in the
programme.
However, due to a lack of fertilizers, these peasant farmers’ vision appears to be
fading.
Non-payment
Reports say that farmers in the Ashanti, North East, Upper East, Bono East, Bono and Ahafo Regions have expressed dissatisfaction over the issue.
The farmers have therefore appealed to the government to release some funds in order to settle the debt of the suppliers.
The Executive Director for Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Charles Nyaaba, in an interview with the media, said his outfit had predicted the shortage of fertilizers following the debts owed to the suppliers.
He added that, since 2021, the Association had continuously reminded the government about these debts which is affecting their operations as farmers.
According to Mr Nyaaba, the inability of the government to deal with the situation will lead to dire consequences.
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