Peasant farmers, in the Sisala East District of the Upper West Region, have expressed their dissatisfaction about, what they claim is, the government’s lukewarm attitude towards the farming community in the northern part of the country.
The farmers also expressed their displeasure with the poor regulation of the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority in the region.
After a press conference on Thursday in Tumu, the Secretary of the Rural Farmers Association, Adam Yakubu, told Citi News that the removal of subsidies on fertilizers and other farm implements had resulted in a reduction in the rate of production from the farmers.
The outgoing Upper West regional minister had earlier stated that the government was no longer going to subsidize fertilizers and farm implements in the region.
Adamu Yakubu said that the farmers are unable to afford the fertilizers and tractors they need and as such, have been unable to maintain crop yields.
He also bemoaned the poor regulation of the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) in the Upper East Region saying that “the activities of the Authority had not been marshalled.”
Mr. Yakubu appealed to the government to continue subsidizing fertilizers and farm implements in the region and called for a better regulation of the activities of SADA.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana