Rice farmers decry lack of gov’t support

Rice farmers have called on government to make credit facilities available to them to boost their production capacity. The farmers say every well meaning Ghanaian should see reason to support farmers to enable them educate their children and seek health services among other necessities in life. “In spite of the fact that we do the hard work to feed the nation, we are unable to educate our children. This often results in teenage pregnancy and waywardness among our children with its attendant burden on us”, farmers complained. To safeguard their livelihoods the rice farmers are asking for safeguards such as high tariffs to be imposed on imported rice in order to leverage the rice market to make the local rice competitive and also enhance their livelihoods. These sentiments were made at a durbar to mark the first farmers’ week organized by the Ghana Trade and Livelihoods Coalition, (GTLC), which comprises over fifty non-governmental organisations, farmer groups and other civil society organisations nationwide. The maiden farmers’ week at Okyereko in the Central Region was on the theme, “Protective Policies, The Best Way to Award the Farmer.” The Chief of Okyereko, a rice producing area in the Central Region, Nana Ntsiful Ababio XI at a durbar appealed to government to help them get buyers for their produce to improve their lot. Currently, the Okyereko Farmers Cooperative, (OFC) has about thousand five hundred mini bags of locally produced rice and 750 maxi bags stacked at the town’s rehabilitated irrigation plant waiting for buyers. According to the Vice President of the OFC, Mr. Emmanuel Amoak the group hopes to install a mill by next month to enable it bag its produced rice. The farmers say their dream of engaging in vegetable farming were dashed when government failed to honour its 15% responsibility to develop the idle land in the area to cultivate vegetables, even though JICA was ready to support 85% of the project. The Director of Christian Aid, Mr. Daleep Mukarje described as unfair the worsening poverty situation in Ghana, where children are out of school, given the enormous resources the country has.He noted that debt cancellation and aid can never take people out of poverty but only make them dependent. “Countries must be allowed to do what is right to take them out of poverty. They must be given the right to make choices but not forced to implement policies imposed by Breton woods institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.” Mr. Mukarje emphasized that Christian Aid’s campaign for Trade Justice is necessary to make the developed world aware of the need to develop sound trade policies to eradicate poverty in third world countries and not aid. “We are asking the European Union and the rich countries of North America and elsewhere to look at their policies that do not enhance the lives of people.” The Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition hopes to make the farmers week celebration an annual affair that would precede the National Farmers Day. The highlight of activities would be the farmers’ durbar, in addition to other activities such as a march and farmers’ forum. The Coordinator of the GTLC, Mr. Ibrahim Akalbila said the coalition is apprehensive about the present trend of reward of a few hardworking farmers on the farmers’ days where cutlasses, household electrical equipment, tractors and vehicles are presented. The coalition suggests the best way to reward farmers is for government to guarantee access to their national markets, to be given targeted investment, to ensure strict implementation of policies, have access to favourable credit facilities and supported to add value to their produce .Mr. Akalbila conceded that government cannot solely solve the numerous challenges faced by farmers. However, he stated the coalition is convinced that government has the singular role of ensuring that the environment is not detrimental to the development of the small farmer as an economic unit. He argued that with better economic circumstance the Ghanaian small scale farmer can contribute their quota not just to food security but also to the overall economic development. “The GTLC thinks that the present low level of production of small farmers, value addition and the declining livelihood situation of small farmers and producers, is an indictment on the quality of leadership by successive governments.” The Coordinator regretted that leaders and public officials have become guardians and defenders of the World Bank and IMF liberalization policies rather than being torch bearers of national development. He emphasized that civil society must directly and indirectly bear the consequences of the ineffective policy and influence the substance and implementation of the national agriculture and trade policies that affect our lives. There Minister for Food and Agriculture failed to honour the invitation as guest speaker for such a laudable programme. He also failed to send a representative.