The Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has provided free Agro chemicals to farmers in the Akatsi South Municipality of the Volta Region.
The exercise supported 156 female and 192 male farmers, forming part of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Programme introduced as one of the flagship initiatives by the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
In an interview, Mr. Charles Grunitzky, the Akatsi South Municipal Director of Agriculture, disclosed that the free chemicals would cover 548 hectares of farmland to control Fall Army Worms (FAW) on maize and other crop-related insect pests, which has affected some farms in the Municipality.
Mr. Grunitzky also said the package provided by the government to the farmers would also help increase food production in the Municipality. He expressed the hope that farmers in the Municipality would appreciate the government’s effort to secure the sustainability and improvement of the agriculture sector.
Mr. Francis Susu Dogah, a farmer who has benefitted from the PFJ programme, testified that the project has saved farmers from having their crops destroyed by worms. He further appealed to the government to provide more for their upkeep. Some areas covered include Live, Kpota, Atidzive, and others.
This comes as a relief to the farmers in the district because, in a recent interview, rice farmers in the Akatsi South District disclosed that the rains this year have been good, but accessing inputs to boost production have been a big challenge.
The Chairman of the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) in the Akatsi South Municipal, Mr. Richard Odzor, told the Vaultz News that most rice farmers have not been able to buy the needed amount of inputs for farming because the prices of these inputs are “above their strength.” This, he said, has resulted in stunted growth of their rice seedlings.
“The rains have been falling as they should, but accessing the right quantity of inputs for our farms is the problem now. I need an average of 30 bags of fertilizer for my farm this year, but I currently have only 20 bags to manage with. We got some fertilizer suppliers from Tema, but their price was above our strength. A bag of urea is GHS400, and a bag of NPK is GHS370. Averagely, a farmer needs four bags of urea and four bags of NPK on an acre of rice to achieve a higher yield, but that is too much for us.”
Mr. Richard Odzor
Need for a strong partnership
Many agri-experts have called for increased partnership between the government, farmers, and private sector to drive innovation and economic growth. “Strong partnerships help cut costs, improve products, and open new markets. With a lot more Agri-PPPs, farmers in the District will be efficient in production to feed the domestic market and also export to neighboring countries”, the agri-stakeholders noted.
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