By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, June 30, GNA – The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has begun distributing 40,000 bags of fertiliser to smallholder farmers under the Government’s Feed Ghana Programme.
The fertiliser, allocated by the Government for the current planting season, is expected to support food production by ensuring farmers receive essential agricultural inputs on time.
A statement issued by the Association in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the fertiliser, allocated by Mr Eric Opoku, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, was being distributed nationwide through PFAG’s regional and district structures to facilitate timely delivery to farmers.
It said following the full delivery of the consignment, the Association’s national executives developed structured modalities to ensure equitable, transparent and accountable distribution to members in all operational districts.
Mr Bismark Owusu Nortey, Executive Director of PFAG, expressed appreciation to the Minister for the timely release of the fertiliser.
“We are grateful to the Minister for fulfilling his promise and the timely delivery of this fertilizer. It comes at a critical time in the planting season, and we are confident it will make a meaningful difference in the yields of our members,” he said.
Mr Nortey said the intervention would enhance the productivity of smallholder farmers and contribute to national food security.
He said fertiliser allocations to the regions were based on district-level membership figures to ensure a proportionate and needs-based distribution process.
At the district level, district chairpersons, who also serve as district focal persons, together with district executives, would be responsible for receiving the fertiliser and coordinating its distribution to members in their respective communities.
Mr Nortey said the Association had made special provisions for women and youth farmers through dedicated allocations managed by the National Women’s Organiser and the National Youth Organiser.
He said only card-bearing members of the Association in good standing would qualify to receive the fertiliser under the current exercise.
PFAG, with a membership of more than 500,000 farmers nationwide, said it had established clear eligibility criteria to guide the selection of beneficiaries at the district level and was compiling comprehensive beneficiary data for submission to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for verification and record-keeping.
Mr Nortey called on the Government to sustain the farmer group distribution model, describing it as one of the most effective and accountable approaches to delivering agricultural inputs.
He urged the Government to extend the model to other agricultural inputs and services, while providing direct support for farmer groups to aggregate and supply food produce to state institutions.
Mr Nortey also appealed to the Government to implement adequate market support measures.
He expressed optimism that the timely availability of fertiliser, coupled with favourable weather conditions, would increase yields this season and ensure farmers had access to reliable markets for their produce.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Morkporkpor Anku