Farmers across the country have been admonished to be circumspect of inferior fertiliser products already in the market for sale at a claimed subsidised cost.
Dr. Charles Nyaaba, Executive Director at the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) mentioned that the producers of this inferior fertiliser had contacted him to distribute the fertiliser to farmers but he declined.
The private company, he said, took advantage of the shortage of subsidised fertiliser last year to infiltrate the market with inferior products.
“Last year, we had some issues which had to do with prices of fertilisers, and then when the government also reduced the subsidy on fertilisers even the quantity available, it got to a point that private companies took advantage of the shortage and they sold any form of fertilisers to farmers, inferior products. Last year, I personally had to take some of them to even EOCO and they detained them and then later on, they refunded the monies that they supplied inferior fertilisers to farmers”, he said.
Dr. Nyaaba has therefore advised farmers to familiarise themselves with the labels on the fertiliser bags, as it contains information about the composition and quality of the product.
“When the season is starting like this, I want to put my members on alert so that they don’t just follow prices and allow companies to take advantage of that and sell inferior products which have consequences on crop yields.”
Dr. Nyaaba who is currently in the Upper East Region on a working visit said he had picked up signals that some of the companies that are noted for selling inferior fertilisers and their products are in some districts and municipalities of the region to lure farmers into buying their products.
“As we speak, there is no government subsidised fertiliser. My attention was drawn yesterday that there is a company in town, who is selling fertilisers to farmers and claims that it is a subsidised fertiliser. I want all farmers who are listening to this program, and input dealers, agricultural extension officers, and agric directors to be aware that what they are doing is not right.”
The Executive Director at PFAG who was speaking on A1 Radio’s ‘DayBreak Upper East’ show, expressed regrets about how the company is pushing the inferior product to the throat of farmers despite some farmers showing disinterest in it.
While calling on farmers to be on the lookout and report companies engaged in the sale of inferior products to appropriate authorities, Dr. Nyaaba explained that using inferior fertiliser can negatively impact crop yields and could also be harmful to both the environment and human health.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga|Ghana
