- Fertilizer shortage hit farmers last year
- Budget allocation for agriculture increased by 30%
- Fertilizer price increases hit agriculture sector
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has bemoaned the increasing prices of fertilizer on the market.
Head of Programs and Policy for the Peasant Farmers Association, Charles Nyaaba in a Citi Business News interview, said the prices of fertilizers have increased astronomically over the years, thus government’s intervention is needed to keep them at competitive prices.
“If you look at budget allocation to the agricultural sector, it has increased to about 30% to the planting for foods and jobs. Now the market has increased astronomically. In 2019, 50kg of NPK was around GH¢120 and GH¢130. In 2020, it increased to 200 to GH¢230. Today if you go to the market, NPK is selling at GH¢240 to GH¢400 depending on the company. So, when the season starts, there is a possibility that these prices will even get worse.”
The association however calls on the government to settle all debts owed to fertilizer companies in the country to ensure that fertilizer does not run out throughout the year [2022].
“What we expect the government to do, is to quickly pay money owed to fertilizer company’s so that these companies can quickly scout for fertilizers, so they can store them while we wait for the season to start.”
He stated that the major reason for the price increments is due to the non-availability of fertilizers in their right quantities.
Mr. Nyaaba also said there is the need to “position ourselves well because if we don’t take care of what happened 2021 will happen in 2022 as well. The reason why there are some increases in almost all agricultural commodities in the market is that we are not able to get fertilizer in the right quantities.”
