Mr Agyeman Kodom, the Chairman of Amoma Cashew and Mango Farmers Association (ACMF) has appealed to government to devote more resources to promote agriculture in the country.
According to the Chairman, the contribution of the government in promoting agriculture can not be underestimated, because the government’s effort in supporting the sector has been the key driving force underlying contributions farmers made for national economic growth.
That notwithstanding, Mr Agyeman Kodom stated that more could be done for the farming industry to thrive better and be more attractive by government through abundant and affordable availability of fertilizers and other farming inputs in the market.
Mr Agyeman Kodom bemoaned the high cost of inputs such as the cost of fertilizer, weedicide, labour, harvesting, among others, is killing farmers. He thus, called on the government to as a matter of urgency, invest in the sector to help farmers. He added that farmers are paying double of what they used to for subsidised fertiliser provided to them by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
Mr Kodom made the appeal in a gathering at Amoma, a farming community in the Kintampo South District of the Bono East Region, saying cashew and mango production were key areas the government could invest in hugely since their market demand, both locally and internationally, were high.
Mr Kodom Commends Govt for Fixing Cashew Prices
Mr Kodom commended the government for initiating a GHC5.00 price per kilogramme of cashew last year, saying “It helped us a lot and if that initiative is applied to other crops, it will greatly reduce our cost of production to guarantee us reasonable profits”.
“Hitherto, there was nothing like that. So, during the rainy season, the price dropped to as low as GHC1.00 or GHC2.00 per a kilogramme, and in that case, we are not able to go to the farms with our labourers because we can’t afford the labour cost and therefore run at a loss because the cashew fruits rot and germinate again.”
Mr Agyeman Kodom
The same sentiment was shared by the Programmes Officer with the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Bismarck Owusu Nortey, who postulated that there have been a significant increase in the cost of cultivating an acre of land.
According to Mr Owusu Nortey, cultivating an acre of land for maize production in 2021 cost about GH¢1007, however, cultivating the same piece of land this year is costing an amount of GH¢3,300.
Mr Owusu Nortey was of the view that conditions will not get better next year as prices will worsen.
“What happens is, when you produce, the final product will definitely see some increases to make up for the high cost of production you incurred. Mind you, for next year too, you’d be experiencing issues regarding high fuel prices, high transport fares. That might also add up to the cost. We should strengthen ourselves for a higher increase in input prices.”
Mr Owusu Nortey
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