By: Catherine Ahiador
The Government of Ghana has finally lifted the ban of export of vegetables to the European Union (EU). This step to place ban on exportation of vegetables to the European Union was taken by stakeholders to avoid the exportation of worm infested vegetables, the reason for which the EU threatened to sanction Ghana from exporting vegetable products to its fold.
Throwing more light on what informed the ban on Rite FM’s Akuafo Sesen on Tuesday, Mr. Joseph Tonto, president for the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana explained that the ban was put in place with the intention to train and educate farmers on the use of good fertilizers.
According to him, worm infested vegetables were always returned to the country but tracing the source of the products has always proven unsuccessful. This according to him is due to the fact that farmers fail to label their products when they bring them for export, adding that there were steps being taken to educate farmers on the proper labeling of their products.
“We will however organize ourselves well and work with them again,” Mr. Tonto assured. He explained that because of the numerous kinds of insects that abound on Ghanaian farms, farmers in their attempt to curb their spread and control them end up applying too much chemicals onto their crops which is inappropriate.
This, Mr. Tonto indicated was due to the fact that vegetable are crops that are eaten raw or just partially cooked, adding that this posed threat to human health. He was worried that some farmers lacked education on proper fertilizer application, hence the need to educate them on the proper application of chemical.
Source: ritefmonline.org
