A Minister of State at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dr Nurah Gyiele, has called on residents in the Upper East Region to help safeguard against smuggling of fertilizers meant for the Planting for Food & Jobs programme in the Northern part.
Dr Gyiele is worried about the possibility of individuals smuggling these fertilizers for re-sale in neighbouring countries as government had drastically reduced the price, making it relatively cheaper across West African countries.
“Our major problem will be fertilizer smuggling, as we have reduced prices of fertilizer by 50 per cent. It’s the cheapest in the sub-region, so there is that motivation and temptation to smuggle these fertilizers across this country,†he said at an interaction with municipal and district directors of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in the Upper East Region.
He continued that, community members will be key in preventing such occurrences and challenged residents to endeavour to do their best to make the programme a reality due to the potential benefit to farmers and the country.
“…So, irrespective of the policing measures put in place to curb the menace, people would still want to smuggle fertiliser, but those doing this smuggling are from our communities, so we [community members] are the best police and best positioned to expose these smugglers,†he highlighted.
The Planting for Food & Jobs programme will get a $120million (125 million Canadian dollars) investment from the Canadian government. A deal for the release of the grant was agreed and signed between the two countries recently.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta represented the government of Ghana while the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms Heather Anne Cameron, signed for her country.
Outdooring The Planting for Food &Jobs programme in January, Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said the programme, and was expected to create over 750,000 jobs for the youth.
The Planting for Food & Jobs programme will be operating under five main components: supply of improved seedlings, provision of fertilisers, extension services, marketing for produce, and e-agriculture.