By Prince Paul Amuzu
The Vice Chairman of All Time Farmers Association (ATFA) who is also the 2001 Eastern Regional Best Farmer, Nana Okoampa has decried the ban on the exportation of vegetables from the country. This according to him is due to the fact that the action has resulted in an overflowing abundance of the commodities in the country, a situation which continues to lead to poor market prices due to the abundance.
The once district best farmer who complained bitterly to Krobea Asante, host of Rite FM’s Agric Forum about the situation observed that some of his members have taken loans from banks to invest into the vegetable farming business and the banks are at their back for their money.
“We took loans from financial institutions on interest to invest into the business. Unfortunately, business is not booming, are produce are getting rotten even with the prices drastically reduced and this is making it very difficult to pay back the loans,” he bemoaned.
Mr. Okwampa who noted that the State rips in a lot of revenue from taxes paid by exporters through their exporting activities thus urged the government to ensure the lifting of the ban in September as assured by the sector minister.
The 2001 Eastern Regional Best Farmer added that the only vegetables they are exporting now is tender with the rest being left at the mercy of the weather while the rest also receives low patronage despite massive price reductions.
He also called on government to deal directly with farmers since they have been in the farming business for a very long time and come with a lot of experience.
He described the Plant Protection and Regulatory Service Division (PPRSD) of the Agric Department as a ‘useless’ entity to the interest of farmers. He labeled its personnel as people coming with very little farming experiences and who only provided them with theories which in the end only complicated their issues.
Source: ritefmonline.org
