Vegetable Farmers Association of Ghana is demanding an explanation from government following the recent ban placed on export of vegetables by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The president of the Association, Mr. Joseph Tonto speaking to Rite FM, expressed displeasure about the indefinite ban of the leafy and vegetable farm produce to the international market.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has placed an indefinite ban on the export of Capsicum, Solanum, luffa and all leafy vegetables to the international market with effect from June 1, 2019.
In a statement signed by the Director of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate, the ministry said the suspension has become necessary due to “the high level of local interceptions at the exit points; the alarming rate of external notifications, and the new EU directives to all countries to re-provide dossiers to the EU on the management of harmful organisms on some of the above vegetables.”
The statement said Ghana recently came out of a ban on vegetable exports imposed by the European Union, “and, as such, we are still on the red list and being monitored closely”.
But Mr. Joseph Tonto said, farmers are left in a dilemma about the ban because, they have tried all their best to follow the rules and regulations of the European Union (EU) so Ghana could avoid the ban.
Ghana’s leafy and vegetable produce is facing ban from international market for the second time in four years.
From 2012 to 2015, the number of intercepted plants from Ghana at the EU borders due to the presence of harmful organisms had increased significantly, leading Ghana to face the highest number of interceptions globally in 2015.
On 13 October, 2015, the European Commission decided to prohibit the introduction of 5 plant commodities from Ghana into the EU market until end of December 2016.
The ban was however, lifted November, 2017.
During the previous ban, some farmers were leaving unemployed and their lands lying idle.
“We have done all that the European Union has asked us to do; we had to sit home for two and half years, however, it was our old folks who helped us recover with their one acre, two acre farms they were doing”, Mr. Tonto told Morning Ride host, Austin Ofori Addo.
Abiding by the EU’s earlier demand, Mr. Joseph Tonto said, “we have united as a group, obeying the dos and the don’ts of the EU, but our only problem is the exit point at the airport; because every product which passes there has a tag attached to its box to show it was checked, packaged and sealed. If there is any problem, they can just trace the person, punish if possible,” he added.
Source: Christina Ntiamoah/ritefmonline.org
