-Govt’s Non Payment of Suppliers To Be Blamed
The government’s huge arrears in respect of payment for the supply of fertilizers is likely to lead to food shortages in 2022, Whatsup News has gathered.
According to the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, the food shortages could be triggered by cuts in fertilizer supply by the suppliers.
The Association’s Director, Charles Nyaaba, said although the government has invested in its flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs, companies that import the fertilizers must be remunerated.
“In 2021, there was a shortage of fertilizers in the market and all was because government owed fertilizer companies for what they supplied in 2020. So we hope that government makes the allocation and release the money and pay these companies so that we will be able to get fertilizer,” he said at a press conference in Accra.
The warning follows a shortage of fertilizers this year which made it difficult for farmers to produce enough food to meet the country’s demands.
Meanwhile, in respect of the government’s E-base initiative, Mr. Nyaaba said the initiative will help track the distribution of the fertilizers and seed supplies.
“The policy, according to the minister, will register and create an electronic database of farmers to provide ready access to relevant information such as; farm size, digital location, type of crop, yields, and market linkages with the ultimate aim to improve tracking, targeting, efficiency and transparency in a public support programme to the sector,” he told the media.