By Godwill Arthur Mensah
Accra, Oct.02, GNA- The Government has secured GHc3.6 billion out of eight billion Ghana cedis required to mitigate the effects of the dry spell in eight regions within the north and middle belts of Ghana.
It would therefore commence the distribution of the grants to over 800,000 farmers on October 10 in that enclave.
Each farmer would receive 25kg of rice and 100kg of maize.
Mr Bryan Acheampong, Minister of Food and Agriculture was briefing the media in Accra to update the public on the mitigating measures against the dry spell.
Dr Acheampong said that to bring relief to the general population, the Ministry had set up an online grain market.
Starting from October 10, he said, the public could conveniently access grains (maize and rice) at affordable prices via the online market platform.
For transparency and accountability of all transactions; the Minister said, all inputs distribution and food grant distribution would be performed on the Ghana Agriculture and Agribusiness Platform (GhAAP).
“A month ago, we announced to the nation a dry spell condition that we judged with high certainty could affect the nation’s grain production and by extension food system and also take a toll on our farmers in several ways.
“The dry spell lasted from mid-June to mid-August which is usually the planting season for the Savannah zone and the northern belt of the transition zone.
“Our food systems also experienced some shocks from the delayed rains in the southern sector which has just begun to fall,” the Minister recalled.
Dr Acheampong said that since the announcement, the government had conducted an extensive audit and analysed the situation.
It had also mobilised resources; secured the approval of Parliament; and support from the World Bank and other Development Partners.
“We have also secured grains, conducted a food availability assurance audit, and can assure the nation that our current food system is safe, and we are able to restore our farmers and their farming activities,” the Minister stated.
Notwithstanding the dry spell, Dr Acheampong said, prices of food commodities were expected to decrease significantly due to the investments made by the government through the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) phase two except for grains.
The Minister outlined the 11 commodities being tracked by the Ministry and highlighted the status of their prices between August and September which had seen a decrease.
They are as follows:
Cassava: 9.05%
Groundnut: 2.19%
Onion: 1.32%
Plantain (Apentu): 34.10%
Cowpea: 27.43%
Tomato (local): 27.30%
Imported perfumed rice: 16.62%
Sorghum: 1%
White yam 2% and
Chicken: 1%.
“We expect this trend to continue through to June of 2025, where we project an average 15% further drop in our main staples and a 50% drop in Maize for the year 2025,” the Minister assured.
For maize, the Minister said, there had been major shocks in prices with white maize being sold at the farmgate at GHS 300.00 per 100kg bag and sold on the market at an average price of GHS 450.00 is now selling at GHS 600.00 at the farmgate and on the market in Ejura, GHS 700.00, Atebubu, Techiman and Nkoranza markets, GHS 770.00 and in the Agbogbloshie and Madina markets, GHS 1,200.00.
Dr Acheampong said from October 1, 2024, the government commenced the distribution of farm inputs including 118,000 Metric tons (MT) of fertilizers and 5,133 MT of seeds to 800,000 smallholder farmers nationwide.
He said farmers farming under two acres would receive two bags of NPK fertilizer, a bag of Urea and either maize or rice seeds.
In addition, 20,000 MT of fertilisers would be supplied to commercial farmers nationwide, with each farmer expected to receive up to 50 bags of NPK and 25 bags of Urea.
The application of those inputs, he explained, was expected to lead to the production of approximately 360,000 MT of paddy rice and 770,000 MT of maize in about 120 days.
The Ministry, he said, was working with ADB and GIRSAL to fine-tune a proposition to commercial farmers to raise GHS 166 million as interest-free loans.
To that end, he said, the Ministry had secured and set aside GHS 50 million cedis that would cover the interest on those loans to commercial farmers.
From October 10, he said, the Ministry, working through the various poultry farmer associations nationwide, would supply poultry farmers with 30,000 MT of poultry feed and vaccines.
“This means that to qualify as a beneficiary, you must be a farmer, and both you and your farm must be fully registered on the GhAAP.
“We have made modifications to allow the GhAAP to accept Voter ID cards for those affected farmers who don’t have Ghana Cards,” he added.
The Ministry, he said, had deployed 3,000 personnel including 2,700 AEAs and 261 District Agric Officers (DAOs), equipped them with tablets, and set a target of registering an average of 12 farmers per day for the next 60 days.
“This is to ensure that no farmer is left behind. We have also provided an option for self-registration on the GhAAP (you can go to the Google Play store and download the GhAAP Farmer App).
“On the field, we have set up monitoring and experiential learning teams made of personnel from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, World Food Programme, Ministry of Finance, the World Bank, the Agriculture and Finance Committees of Parliament, Civil Society Organizations, and select media houses.
“Their role is to ensure that the implementation of the measures are carried out effectively,” he added.
The minister also gave the assurance that farmers would receive the necessary support and farming activities would be fully restored.
It had also set up a high-level oversight committee made up of: the Ministers of Agriculture, Finance, Defence and Local Government and the Dean of Regional Ministers to ensure effective distribution of the food grants and farm inputs.
The minister said the recent dry spell and the scare were the reasons the nation must rally behind the PFJ Phase 2 initiative to support smallholder farmers, invest in commercial agriculture, and continue to commit to an annual irrigation investment plan averaging three billion cedis a year over the next 10 years.
“Additionally, we must invest in long-term grain storage systems, targeting a capacity increase of 100,000 metric tons per year over the next 16 years to enhance food security and resilience,” Dr Acheampong stated.
GNA