PFAG expresses worry over hike in prices of farm inputs
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has expressed concerns over increasing prices of farm inputs.
According to the Association, the high prices of inputs is making farming expensive.
“Cost of farming is becoming extremely expensive for peasant farmers as prices of almost all farm inputs have more than quadrupled,” says President of PFAG, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Mohammed.
Alhaji Abdul Rahman Mohammed believes subsidies on farm inputs will be crucial in cushioning peasant farmers.
“One bag of fertilizer today is going for about GHC 350 to GHC 400 and this used to be around GHC 100 in 2019.
He made this statement when the Board members of the Asociation paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the Manhyia Palace.
Alhaji Abdul Rahman Mohammed also bemoaned the fact that high interest rates in Ghana has led to high cost of agricultural production.
“While other countries are giving zero interest for agricultural loans, interest rate for farming in Ghana is over 30%.
He warned that about 100,000 people in the rice value chain risk losing their livelihood with the implementation of the benchmark discount value.
He said the policy has resulted in the reduction in the final cost of imported goods.
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“The universal application of this policy meant a drastic reduction in the final cost of imported goods including rice, palm oil and poultry.
“An estimated 100,000 persons who are directly engaged in the rice value chain activities stand the risk of losing their livelihoods if the benchmark discount policy reversal is not implemented as planned,” he noted.
On his part, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II asked the government to institute policies to encourage more people, especially the youth to take up farming.
“The country cannot be importing food from other countries, providing logistics to the framers will help them give more,” he said.
The Association took the opportunity to invite Otumfuo to their upcoming Annual General Meeting in March this year.
Meanwhile, players in the rice industry, including the Rice Millers and Peasant Farmers Associations, are warning that the local rice industry may collapse due to the suspension of implementing the reversal of the benchmark value discount policy.
The groups say importers currently benefit from lower import duties made possible by the 50% benchmark discount policy, which has led to the flooding of the Ghanaian market with cheap imported rice.
Spokesperson for the Association, Dr Charles Nyaaba, indicated that they’re are losing one hundred thousand of their employees.
“We are so much concerned; the rice value chain employs not less than 500,000 people daily. As we speak, we are losing over 100,000 in the rice value chain because rice mills have closed down.”
“Farmers are leaving their farm, those doing the marketing and others have shut down those activities because of some few importers who put pressure on government to reverse this policy,” he lamented.
On his part, the president of the Rice Millers Association, Michael Darko, dismissed claims rice millers in Ghana do not have the capacity to meet the country’s demands for the commodity.
“I think that is a very flawed argument that has been raised. As of now, the 10 accredited millers in Ghana alone have about a million metric tonnes of capacity annually.”
“We have over 60 mills, talking about the small and medium tier mills that we have in the country; so, we have the capacity,” he stressed.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), in a statement dated January 13, 2022, suspended the implementation of the reversal of discounts on benchmark values until further notice.
The Authority said the decision is to enable further engagements with all the relevant stakeholders.
“Following the outcome of a meeting held on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, the Customs Division of GRA has been directed to suspend the implementation of government’s policy directive on the removal or reduction of values of imports on selected items until further notice, to enable more engagements with all the relevant stakeholders,” part of the statement read.
President Akuffo-Addo had earlier directed the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to pull the breaks on implementing the reversal of discounts on benchmark values.
