Fertilizer suppliers in the country say they have been hit hard following the government’s failure to settle debts owed them for the supply of the product to farmers.
The outstanding debts owed to suppliers by the government have forced the suppliers to revise their arrangements with creditors; a situation they are unhappy with.
In an interview with Bohyeba Afriyie on Plan B Fm’s Mr. Prince Adepa Chief Executive of Chamber Of Fertilizer Ghana Revealed that if debt is not immediately settled, it will lead to dire consequences in the food production value chain.
“It is expected that [if the current situation persists] we are going to have very low Production.
To prove His point he sighted Peasant Farmers Recent concerns raised: which explained that the suppliers have ceased providing farmers with fertilizer due to the government’s inability to clear the arrears owed.
He disclosed that even suppliers under the government’s Planting for Foods and Jobs programme have still not been paid, making it difficult for raw materials to be sourced for production.
“We actually sent signals to the government last year warning them about the implication of the non-payment of outstanding debt, which at the time was, GH¢600 million. That crippled a lot of our members with their suppliers.”
“We said the non-payment was going to affect our production this year. Per my last check, we had barely 100,000 tonnes of all types of fertilizer in the country. We are struggling”, he lamented.
He concluded by pleading with the government to put measures in place to boost local production of organic fertilizer to improve yield.
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