Government has officially announced the Minimum Producer Prices for Oil Palm Fruits and Rubber for the month of January 2023.
The Minimum Producer Price for Oil Palm Fresh Fruits Bunch (FFB) is GHȻ1,252. 92 per tonnes whilst that of Raw Rubber Cup-lumps, is GHȻ 4.9167 per kilogram.
The Deputy Agric Minister, Yaw Frimpong Addo, during an announcement at a meeting in Sekondi in the Western Region revealed that, a new set of prices will be released every month.
“Every month, a new price will come and it is not going to be below what we have started with. There is an Act of Parliament establishing everything that we are doing in determining the price”
Yaw Frimpong Addo
According to Mr. Frimpong, the pricing regime will motivate farmers to increase their acreage and encourage the young one’s to venture into agriculture.
Again, he said the pricing mechanism also provides room for farmers to obtain a premium for the quality of Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) produced as well as that of rubber.
“The world is growing and the land for agriculture is limited. World population has gotten to over seven billion and the demand for rubber and oil pam is very high, there is the need to encourage more people into agriculture”
Mr. Yaw Frimpong Addo
The Deputy Minister of Agric again then mentioned that, Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) has been established by an Act of Parliament to regulate and develop in a sustainable environment; the production, processing, pricing, and marketing of six tree crops namely: Oil Palm, Rubber, Shea, Coconut, Cashew, and Mango.
The Authority, he said, is therefore leading the agenda for the diversification of Ghana’s agriculture by putting in place policies and programs to guide research, production, processing, pricing, and marketing of the six tree crops with enormous agricultural, economic, export and forex earning potential for Ghana.
Mr. Addo also pointed out that the Minimum Producer Prices were developed by the TCDA together with various value chain Actors of Oil Palm, and the Rubber industry in Ghana, following best and sustainable international practices.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of Tree Crops Development Authourity, William Agyepong Quaitoo also took the participants through the intricacies in determining the prices of the oil palm and the rubber.
Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister noted that farming has a lot of benefits and urged the farmers to take advantage of the Minimum Producer Pricing to expand their farming business and employ more people.
GAWU Urges Agric Ministry To Prioritize Supply Of Fertilizers, Seedlings
Also, in a recent development, the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to prioritise the supply of fertilisers and seedlings ahead of the planting season under the Planting for Food and Jobs program.
According to GAWU, this initiative would help resolve serious challenges faced by farmers in the past two years in purchasing fertilizers ahead of the season leading to low output.
Mr. Edward Kareweh, the General Secretary of GAWU during an interview disclosed that, farmers need to get fertilizers on time to be able to handle critical issues that may arise during the farming season.
Mr. Kareweh warned that failure to adequately supply the farm inputs could negatively affect yields in the harvesting season.
“In 2021, farmers did not get fertilizers at the right time. This is very critical to handle. If you do not get fertilizers at the right time, or you even get the fertilizers late and you apply for it, you will not get the appropriate results.”
Mr. Edward Kareweh
Mr. Kareweh recalled that farmers had to struggle to buy fertilizers at prices over 80% the original price due to lack of the farm inputs.
“For the past two years, farmers have been struggling across all the crop areas. If you talk about maize, tomatoes, soyabeans. Farmers planting these crops have struggled in the last two years. It has been a desperate period for farmers.”
Mr. Edward Kareweh
Speaking on food inflation, he stated that a pragmatic policy on the supply of fertilizers could help drive food prices down, hence reduce inflation.
Read Also : Agriculture In The Year 2022 A Disaster- GAWU
