By Dennis Peprah
Asuano, (Bono East), March 24, GNA – Okro farmers at Asuano, one of the largest okro producing communities in the Bono East Region have called for a fixed price for okro to enhance their socio-economic livelihoods.
That would also increase their profit margins, keep them in business and inspire them to grow the vegetable in commercial quantities.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Asuano in the Nkoranza North Municipality of the Region, the farmers lamented that because there was no fixed price the traders determined the price for the farmers.
“Because there are no fixed prices for okro, the trader often bought the produce from our farm gate at cheaper prices and went back and sold them at higher prices in the urban centers,” Mr Isaac Boakye, the leader and spokesperson for the farmers stated.
He said though the okro farming was lucrative due to high public demand, the farmers often experienced losses in the crop season due to the bad price placed on the produce.
Mr Boakye said the community had more than 100 okro farmers with about 500 acres of the farms, and called on the government to come, saying the farmers also required storage facilities to tackle post-harvest losses too.
Some of the female farmers who spoke to the GNA said with financial support, they could go into commercial plantations and thereby increase productivity, urging the government to also intervene for them to get good prices for their produce.
GNA
DEN/KOA