Former Member of Parliament for Twiffo-Ati Morkwa constituency in the Central region, Hon Abraham Dwuma Odoom has said it is time for the government to wean farmers off fertilizer subsidies because we need to place agriculture to where it has to be.
According to him, despite the fact that we need to support farmers, we should also have it in mind that we have goals and we need to support it to a point, and the farmers must also be able to continue in a long run and that will even be more sustainable than always government helping.
Speaking to the media on the way forward for agriculture in Ghana, the former law maker said the government have to create a good environment for private sectors to also thrive because we cannot say private sector is the engine of growth whiles we don’t benefit from it.
Fertilizer contributes about 20 per cent of the total cost of agricultural production, hence there’s need for the government to look into other factors such as credit facilitation.
In other cases, distributors were hoarding the subsidized products for their personal gain.
They have termed the subsidy as a basic political solution to an economic problem, saying subsidies generally have proven to be ineffective in addressing real economic issues.
Listen to the audio below:
Story by: Onokwafo Yaw Asiedu (OYA) / Ahotoronline.com
