Marketing plays a key role in every sector of production but for the Best farmer for the Talensi District in the Upper East Region, at the just ended 38th farmers day celebration, the lack of ready market for farmers to sell their produce is affecting their profits margins.
John Atia told A1 News that, even though production has been largely affected due to the rippling effects of the Russian-Ukraine war which has affected the global supply chain of fertilisers, farmers within his catchment area also have to contend with places to sell their wares.
He said,”some [farmers] have got the maize but even the marketing is a problem. So they [industry players] buy it the way they want. So after that maybe the cost we would have incurred to farm, at times, when we calculate we don’t get profit.”
The plight of farmers could be solved if the government supports farmers with some soft loans with little interest and establishes well regulated markets for farmers to sell their produce, this is according to the District’s best farmer.
“We farmers, we need markets. I think as I am standing here, if there are ready markets I can do over 500 acres. You know, we farmers cannot go on strike. We are suffering. A lot of farmers this year are crying,” he stressed.
The notion that there’s a lack of ready market has however been dispelled strongly by Thomas Duanab Wuni Pearson, the DCE for Talensi.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, Mr. Wuni Pearson explained that with the current vibrancy of the National Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), a world of opportunities have been opened for farmers who want to quickly sell their produce.
“For me, with the revamping of the Buffer Stock, no farmers would be complaining that there’s no ready market for their produce because we don’t even get enough. The market is available. Myself, I have said I wanted about 50-100 bags of maize. I have been talking to people and I haven’t had it yet.”
The Talensi DCE continued to say that most farmers in the area do not engage in large scale commercial farming. The situation, however, is to be addressed by the District Department of Agriculture.
“We haven’t had the muscle that one farmer steps out, like in the Fumbisi area where one farmer can produce 200 bags of rice, we haven’t reached there yet in our area. You have 4, 5 farmers put that number together. We don’t have very large scale farmers in our area. That is what we want to encourage.”
“I have been talking to the director of agriculture and we are looking at what other subsidies or farm machineries can be available to help us realise it.”
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
