The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has called for certain taxes to be dedicated to improving agricultural productivity, particularly the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP).
According to the association, areas to tax should include three per cent of banks’ profit; a percentage of Value Added Tax (VAT), Communications Services Tax, contributions from lottery revenue and a percentage of oil and gas revenue.
Outlining key issues that needed to be reviewed with regards to the FSP at a policy dialogue in Accra, the Programme Coordinator of PFAG, Ms Victoria Adongo said there should also be an imposition of tariffs on imported food in which Ghana had competitive advantage as a way of raising additional funds to support local agricultural development through the implementation of the FSP.
She said the capacity of the Ghana Agricultural Input Dealers Association should be built to improve their distribution networks and that the subsidy period should run all-year round.
The association has also asked for strict enforcement of the law against smuggling and punishment for person caught trying to smuggle fertiliser outside the country.
PFAG said the government must put in a mechanism to guarantee all farmers equal access to the subsidised fertiliser to avoid hoarding by big players.
The government initiated the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP) in 2008 to help farmers increase their rate of fertiliser use, thereby increasing productivity and production.
Outlining key issues for a review of the FSP, at a policy dialogue in Accra, the Programme Coordinator of PFAG, Ms Victoria Adongo, said the decentralisation of distribution networks should be made to cover large farming and rural communities.
According to PFAG, key challenges in the current FSP include the delay in the supply of fertilisers, women’s access to subsidised fertiliser not specifically addressed in the current design of the programme and that delay in payment by the government to fertiliser suppliers.
In that vein, the President of PFAG, Mr. Mohammed Adam Nashiru, said the continuation of the fertiliser and other subsidies was necessarily justifiable and emerging consensus was that such subsidies were essential for African agriculture sector.
He said fertiliser was a key determinant of high crop yields, for that reason “in our efforts to ensure the country becomes food secure, we should be interested in access of fertiliser by farmers.”
He added; “Ghana is still not food secure as food production is less than required consumption, with commodities like rice and maize still not enough to feed the country.”
The association called on parliament and the government to gather the political will and do what was best for farmers.
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