Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association, Bismark Nortey, has raised concerns over the impact of falling market prices on smallholder farmers across the country.
This comes after a report that farmers in Ejura are complaining of low sales as some of their maize crops go to waste.
Speaking to reporters, some farmers complained of being neglected. They said that special attention is given to cocoa farmers although their work is more difficult.
Commenting on the issue on Joy News on September 16, Mr. Nortey said many farmers are struggling to sell their produce at fair value, leaving them unable to break even on their investments.
“We have farmers who are into the production of cowpea, tomatoes, onion, rice, where the prices have dropped significantly. The scary thing about it is the current market prices are unable to even make the farmer break even,” he stated.
He noted the government’s goal of keeping food affordable for consumers should not be at the expense of farmers.
“The government is working hard to ensure that there is low prices of food so that consumers purchase them. On the other hand too, you also want a situation where the low prices of food should not lead to the farmers loss of income,” he said.
Bismark Nortey then questioned, “So how do we balance the two?”
Another pressing challenge Mr. Nortey raised is the absence of appropriate storage facilities for smallholder farmers which makes them sell their produce at any price for fear of additional losses.
“The problem for the average small holder farmer is that, because he or she does not have the capacity to store this food in anticipation to sell them later, he or she is compelled to sell them now.”
“It is a very difficult and depressing situation for farmers and I think that we need to have a clear direction, structure and mechanism for produce like cereals,” he noted.
Bismark Nortey said this is a situation that needs a solution and urged the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to intervene.
