The President of the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishers (GNAFF), Mr David Nene Kobo, has cautioned farmers against diverting fertilisers supplied by the government for sale in the open market.
He said the intention of the government for supplying the fertilisers was to increase agricultural output, pointing out that diverting them for sale in the open market would defeat the government’s purpose.
He explained that the fertiliser subsidy was introduced by the government to lessen the financial burden on peasant, youth, women and smallholder farmers.
Mr Kobo was speaking at a farmers’ forum held in Sunyani to deliberate on issues concerning the distribution of the free government fertilisers.
He said some farmers deliberately hoarded the free government fertilisers during the growing season and sold them on the open market after the season.
Membership
Touching on the association, Mr Kobo encouraged all farmers to register as members, to give them a common voice.
He said although the association had existed for 29 years, its limited membership, mainly national best farmers, hampered its expansion and impact.
The limited membership coverage, he said, had been scrapped to cover all farmers in the country.
Wrong perception
Mr Kobo called on the public to discard the notion that farming was a job for the poor, adding that farming was also not an alternative to unemployment.
At the event, the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Maxwell Atingane, said the police would continue to track down those who engaged in the smuggling and sale of the government’s free fertilisers.
He hinted that the police and military would form a joint taskforce to clamp down on all those involved in the smuggling of the fertilisers.
Mr Atingane added that anyone found in the act of reselling the free fertilisers would also be arrested and prosecuted.
Source: graphic.com.gh
