Fix produce markets, reduce input costs – 2019 Best Farmer runner-up urges gov’t ahead of 2027 budget

Hours before the government presents the 2027 Budget this evening, one of Ghana’s most decorated farmers has sent a blunt message: fix the market, or farming will collapse.

The Chief Executive Officer of Antika Company Limited and second runner-up at the 2019 National Best Farmer Awards, Alhaji Antiku Abdulai, says farmers are trapped between low produce prices, expensive inputs and the absence of a guaranteed market.

“The marketing policy is important. There is a lot of mess in the system,” he said.

“We expect that the government should come out with a policy that will always mop up the excess produce we produce within the country.”

His argument is that farmers cannot return to the fields for another farming season if they are unable to sell their produce.

“If we are not able to sell as farmers, how do we go back into the farming season? The prices are low; our produce are not being bought,” he lamented.

On the cost of inputs, Alhaji Antiku said existing subsidies were not sufficient to make farming affordable.

“Fertilisers are subsidised, but the farmers are saying it is not at the lowest they can afford,” he said.

“As it is now, all the inputs — the seed, fertilisers and what not — they are very expensive. And the prices of the grains are low. How do we afford those things so that we can go back to the field?”

He is therefore appealing to the government to introduce deliberate measures to reduce the cost of fertilisers, chemicals and certified seeds.

He also raised concerns about the increasing cost of ploughing and harvesting, calling for greater government support for mechanisation to reduce the financial burden on farmers.

“Ploughing cost is going high. Harvesting cost is going high. That is why I talked of mechanisation. If the government brings in the equipment to help the farmers, the prices will come down,” he said.