Thoroughly audit subsidies under Planting for Food and Jobs; success of programme is untrue – Chamber of Fertiliser Ghana
The Chamber of Fertiliser Ghana is calling for a thorough audit of the activities of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.
The call follows a media report which stated that newly appointed Minister for Food and Agriculture, Brian Acheampong has suspended the programme to ascertain the impact of subsidies on fertiliser and seeds supplied to farmers.
In 2022, the Chamber was owed ¢400 million for fertiliser supplied under the programme.
Reacting to the issue, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Prince Adipah said the figures published by the ministry in the past on the success of the programme did not reflect the true situation on the ground.
“We haven’t really seen the impact of this programme when it comes to the figures that we get to hear” he said.
Mr. Adipah suggested that there is the need to address the issues from the angles of accessibility and cost.
“Issues of accessibility would have helped more for planning sake if importers of fertiliser generally know the demand for the importers to bring in the volume needed”.
He raised concerns that currently, government does not present proper data on the volume of fertiliser consumed since it was purchased under a subsidy programme.
This, he explained could help the importers plan the financial inflow and outflow of the purchase to avert challenges from government buyers.
“We need to know the entire volume that we consume as a nation so that we know what it is”, he stressed.
Mr. Adipah reiterated that there is a need for more engagements between the importers and the government to streamline such activities between the private sector and the public sector.
He assured that there is enough fertiliser currently in the country to supply local farmers.
Source: Ghana News
