High cost of farm input has become a major concern for local farmers in recent times.
This has compelled some farmers to reduce their farm size, thus, cutting down on production.
However, with the announcement of a tax waiver on the importation of agricultural machinery and inputs in the 2024 budget, how are farmers receiving this?
Barkisu Tahiru has been using granular fertilizer on her farm for decades, but the scarcity and high cost of the input have forced her to go back to the use of manure to sustain her 3-acre rice farm at Offinso in the Ashanti region.
“The inputs are not only expensive, but are becoming hard to get. The prices have tripled within a year, and this is draining us financially. As smallholder farmers, our only option is to reduce our farm size due to the increasing cost”, Barkisu explained.
For 15 years, Adu Gyamfi has been earning income from his vegetable farm at Gyinyase in Kumasi.
The swelling cost of farm input is taking a toll on his farming activities.
“I am working on only 2 out of my 5 acres of farmland. The price of the inputs keeps rising, and at the moment, I can’t afford to labor on all the farm size. By the time you even harvest, you earn nothing because all the money has gone into production costs.”
The disconcerting situation is likely to have an impact on Ghana’s quest to strengthen food security.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, indicated in his presentation of the 2024 budget that, government will grant tax exemptions on the importation of agricultural machinery equipment and inputs.
“If this is implemented and the prices of the inputs decline, then we can expand and also sell the produce at a cheaper price”, Adu Gyamfi, a farmer, assured.
For importers and dealers of farm inputs, the intervention is refreshing and timely, looking at the impact of the increasing cost of the inputs on farmers.
“The inputs are very expensive because of the taxes on them, and most smallholder farmers are unable to buy. Now that the government wants to revert to the zero tax on importation of agricultural machinery and inputs, it will definitely lead to a reduction of prices and will come as a relief to the farmers”, Chief Executive Officer of Bentronics Agrochemicals, Bernard Kwasi Boampong indicated.
Ghana’s import of essential food commodities has reached an average of 2 billion US dollars each year, according to a report by the Ministry of Finance.
With Ghana hoping to cut down on the importation of agricultural produce, there is a need to make farming supportive to encourage farmers to enhance productivity.