The Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Afriyie Akoto has explained that the shortage of fertilizers under government’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) during the farming season was as a result of global price hikes which affected government’s ability to purchase more fertilizers.
While on a working tour to the Upper East Region Mr. Afriyie Akoto advised farmers not to over-rely on the subsidized fertilizers under the PFJ, urging them to turn their focus to the open market if they need more fertilizer for their farms in the coming season.
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“In Ghana, we do not produce fertilizer. Everything is imported, the world fertilizer prices have gone up as much as three times. Urea which last year was USD 310 Per metric tonne last year landed at the Tema Harbor, do you know how much it cost today? USD 1,200” He stated.
Adding that “from the whole world there is a shortage of fertilizer and it has affected everybody and everyone is saying food prices are going to go high because farmers will do not have fertilizers to apply to their farm, so it is not just you, we are part of the world economy so should be able to go to the open market to buy the fertilizer”.
According to Dr. Afriyie Akoto, the government’s introduction of subsidised fertilizers was to encourage farmers in the agriculture sector to adopt the use of technology and other new ways of farming, so as to shift from the traditional way of farming.
He stressed that the government is only doing Ghanaian farmers a favour by subsidizing the Planting for Food and Jobs fertilizers therefore, it should not be taken as a routine means of getting fertilizer but farmers should resort to the open market for more fertilizers.
