The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has dismissed claims that the shortage of fertilizers largely across the northern part of Ghana is as a result smuggling.
” There’s no fertilizers to be smuggled so then i think if anyone attributes to the recent shortages of fertilizers to smuggling then that can not be accurate,” he said.
He added that “I have set up a fertlizer watch dog who are supposed to monitor the smuggling situation and as i am speaking im here in the upper east to monitor the situation.”
The government has blamed the smuggling of fertilizer as one of the major causes of the shortage of subsidized fertilizer to farmers in the country.
Agriculture Minister Dr Afriyie Akoto who was answering questions from Atwima-Nwabiagya South MP Emmanuel Agyei Anhwere also blamed the situation on the hike in global prices, the changing rainfall patterns being experienced in the country, and indebtedness to suppliers.
But speaking to Alfred Ocansey on the 3FMSunrise Morning Show the head of Programs and advocacy officer of the Association Dr Charles Nyaaba stated that licensed dealers in subsidized fertile have run out stock.
“Out of the 35 companies that got contracts to supply fertilizers in 2021, less than 6 of them have been able to bring in fertilizers, I am saying that on authority and we are relying on 4 of them and with even that only 1 is able to be up to the task.”
Farmers in the northern part of the country are lamenting what they describe as acute shortage of subsidized fertilizer and this is despite government assurance that it has released about 260 million to the suppliers.
Some of the farmers in the upper east who have been sharing the frustrations with us indicated that there is no availability of fertilizers even with the fertilizers and further called on government to immediately intervene.
By Mounkaila Abdoul-Razak Hassane