Fertilizer suppliers can now momentarily experience a relief as the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Finance announces releases an amount of GH¢260 million for the payment of arrears owed the fertilizer companies from May to July 2021.

This was revealed by Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, Minister for Food and Agriculture, in a response to an urgent question filed by Mr Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi on the floor of parliament.

Meanwhile, Dr Afriyie-Akoto explained that the funds released comprised an amount of GH¢176,631,445 but the actual payment made to the companies this far was GH¢73.8 million, which he said was being processed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture through the GIFMIS system.

Moreover, he noted that the payment represented 44 percent of the total debt of GH¢587,876,784 owed all the fertilizer companies that supplied fertilizers to all the farmers under the Planting for Food and Jobs campaign.

Dr Afriyie-Akoto further added that the Ministry has taken steps earlier in the year to bolster the fertilizer companies. One of the steps he mentioned was the upward adjustment of the Planting for Food and Jobs fertilizer in beginning of the year 2021 to cushion the fertilizer companies on the account of the increased international market commodity prices due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He thus, observed that the adjustment would enable the fertilizer companies to import and distribute the fertilizers for the remainder of 2021 planting season.

Additionally, he also stated that the Ministry had organized an emergency meeting with fertilizer companies to discuss fertilizer shortages and its adverse effects on food security.

The Agric Minister also observed the monitoring of the availability and distribution of the fertilizers to farmers had improved significantly since then.

However, when Dr Afriyie-Akoto was asked about the steps his ministry is taking to ensure that there is adequate supply of fertilizers till the end of the year, the Minister explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the global fertilizer industry to the extent that prices has gone-up by more than one-third.

Nonetheless, he noted that despite the challenges, government has made arrangements to ensure that at least in the minor season which is yet to come, sufficient fertilizer will be made available to the farmers in order for them to conclude their processes and ensure good harvest.

Meanwhile, Mr Dafeamekpor wanted to know what steps the Ministry was taking to pay arrears owed fertilizer suppliers to avert the acute shortage presently facing farmers in the country.

It can be recalled that the Executive Member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Eric Opoku, has called on government to immediately settle debts owed fertilizer suppliers in the country.

As a result of the debts owed them by government, the suppliers of fertilizer for the Planting for Food and Jobs programme halted distribution of the product in April 2021. Therefore, this revelation by the Minister is expected to give some relief to suppliers and a welcome news to the fertilizer companies.