As part of National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association of Ghana’s (NFFAWAG) visit to the presidency, farmers have appealed to the President and Ministry of Agric to consider the establishment of Special Agriculture Fund.
According to the Chairman for NFFAWAG and 2009 National Best Farmer, Mr. Davies Narh Korboe speaking to Rite FM’s Midday News said; due to the high interest rate on loans from credit facilities and also the difficulty for farmers to access such facilities, farmers are demotivated from expanding their work.
Farmers therefore appealed to the President to consider the establishment of Special Agriculture Fund to support farmers, processors and the entire agribusiness.
‘’ This fund, if considered, would make start-up funds readily available to budding agribusiness entrepreneurs, especially young and the unemployed graduates who are ready to take up agriculture and agribusiness as a profession.’’
The NFFAWAG Chairman said, the President accepted their appeal and proposed the use of Oil and Gas money to establish the fund.
The Special Fund can rescue the Agriculture Sector from emergency situations, for instance invasion of pest and disease like the fall army worm, bird flu, swine fever, bush fire etc.
‘’Such a fund would also facilitate prompt and effective action on emergencies such as infestations by the fall army worm, floods, swine fever, bird flu, bush fires and drought which have devastating and long-term effects on the country as a whole.’’
He concluded that, the stakeholders in the various farmer groups met the Agric Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto to deliberate on the Agric Fund and how to draft official documents to the President of the Republic.
Source: Joyce Bedeley/ritefmonline.org
