A group of Ghanaian farmers has expressed worry about producing at a high cost only for the government to bring in cheap imports when it’s time to sell.
Several factors have converged to send agricultural commodity prices to near-record levels over the past three months. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the potential loss of Ukrainian exports was the latest development to push commodity prices higher. Other factors affecting global markets, which dated to late 2020, include supply chain disruptions due to Covid-19 and drought-reduced supplies, increasing global demand.
These current happenings have caused an uproar amongst some Ghanaian farmers about the government bringing in cheap imports only when they are ready to sell their produce. Most Ghanaians choose imported chicken and eggs over locally produced chicken and eggs because they are cheap. Domestic production cost is always high due to not optimizing economies of scale. This has led to the folding up of many poultry farms.
Who in the world can produce at a cheaper cost today
Some farmers have quizzed that these examples are enough reason to stop producing in this food era because “who in the world can produce at a cheaper cost today”?
Others expressed their worries by questioning what happens if they produce at a high cost and it is time to sell only for the politicians and agents to bring in cheap imports?
“The cost of agricultural inputs is going higher and higher. This shouldn’t be a reason not to produce. Instead, it’s the very reason to make us produce more as the prices of products will certainly be higher. Our problem in Ghana is when the Politicians will come out with prices of products that stimulate the market prices. We can’t have people participating in the agricultural sector as businessmen. Let the Politicians leave the sector to the players.”
Founder of Super Farms GH
Remedies government deploy to assist local producers
High commodity prices will likely spur a lot of producers to plant more acres, but there is uncertainty about sales of yield as Ghana is a heavy importer of food commodities. It will be unfair for farmers to invest their sweats and money into production only for the government to allow goods to be imported into the country, given high fertilizer prices and the perennial wild card of weather conditions during the growing season.
Some Agri-experts have advised the government to curb imports and rely more on domestically produced grains, tubers, and other staples. This will encourage many more people to venture into food production and consequently attain a higher reliance and sovereignty.
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