By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Aug. 18, GNA – The government has increased the quantity of fertilisers for farmers under the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP) for the year 2022.
This is to enable a farmer to receive 28 bags of 25 kilogramme (kg) fertiliser as against 20 bags of 25kg received last year.
Mr Dauda Abdul Salam, Northern Regional Crops Officer, and Desk Officer for Planting for Food and Jobs, who announced this, said it was to ensure that farmers, who used hybrid seeds, got enough fertiliser to feed their crops to do well.
Mr Salam explained that “It used to be 20 mini bags per farmer, but government has taken into consideration the hybrid seeds, which demand more fertiliser. So, the quantity has been increased from 25kg of the 20 bags per farmer to 28 bags of the 25kg bag per farmer. This is because the hybrids take more fertiliser than the open pollinated varieties.”
He made the announcement while making a presentation on the 2022 FSP implementation modalities at a forum in Tamale organised by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG).
The forum, attended by selected farmers from some districts of the Northern Region, was to increase awareness of farmers and other stakeholders on the FSP implementation modalities for the 2022 season and the focus on organic fertiliser.
Mr Salam said smuggling of subsidised fertiliser was now a thing of the past as the government had instituted measures to stop the practice, adding farmers were registered and would go through a biometric verification system to redeem their fertilisers under the FSP.
He said subsidised fertilisers had arrived in the region for farmers to purchase to boost production, urging all farmers to go to the centres to buy the fertilizers for improved production adding “we have given our numbers out. If the farmers have any challenges, they should first call the district offices, and if they cannot solve it, they should call on the regional office. We are ready to help them out.”
He said input was also available and urged the farmers to make good use of the subsidies to increase food production.
The PFAG, in a statement, said it appreciated the government’s efforts to curb the challenges of the rising cost of inorganic fertilizer by increasing the quantity of organic fertilizer under the Planting for Food and Jobs programme.
It called for conscious efforts to develop an in-country fertilizer processing plant with the private sector adding “In the interim, the government should consider sourcing from fertilizer companies on the continent. This will significantly reduce dependence on imports and thus build resilience against supply chain disruption outside the continent.”
GNA