John Dumelo donates fertilizers to vegetable farmers in Accra

Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has donated 1000 bags of fertilizers to some vegetable farmers at Trasacco and Abokobi in the Adenta and Ga East Municipal Assemblies, respectively.

The gesture which falls under the “Feed Ghana Programme,” a flagship policy by the Government of Ghana, seeks to enhance the productivity of vegetable farmers, enabling them to increase their yield and meet the growing food demands of Accra's population, and the nation as a whole.

During the exercise, Mr. John Dumelo, the Deputy Minister for MOFA, said traditionally, the focus on distributing farm inputs had always been to farmers outside, under the assumption that those within the city might not require as much support.

He added that during their earlier engagement with the farmers in the selected constituencies last week, they discovered that farmers in Accra also faced significant challenges and were equally in need of these resources.

“In light of this, we are here today to donate bags of fertilizer to support their agricultural efforts and ensure they are not left out of our developmental initiatives,” he stressed.

Mr. Dumelo said over two decades ago, there were between 600 and 700 active farmers, but today, that number had declined significantly to just a little over 100, as a result, it was this reduced group of farmers who currently stood to benefit from the interventions.

The Deputy Minister assured the farmers of the Government's intentions to reclaim unlawfully taken Government lands, including making them accessible to genuine farmers.

“Once this process is complete, portions of the land may be made available to farmers for cultivation, at least on a temporary basis”

“This is important because, contrary to common perception, not all food consumed in Accra is sourced from outside the city, local production plays a vital role in meeting demand so we must encourage farming activities within Accra as well,” Mr. Dumelo added.

Mr. Bright Atobondi, National Coordinator, Feed Ghana Programme, said the programme was tackling agricultural mechanisation challenges, and equipping Farmer Service Centres with the necessary machinery to support farmers and boost productivity.

He said agriculture should be guided by science, not personal assumptions, for which reason they were collaborating with the Crop Research Institute to develop and introduce resilient seed varieties that could withstand changing conditions and ensure sustainable production.

The National Coordinator said the belief that Ghana could not produce enough tomatoes was largely due to climatic differences, particularly high night temperatures, which affected tomato flowering.

He said unlike Burkina Faso, which enjoyed cooler nights year-round, Ghana could only naturally produce tomatoes from May to September.

“To address this, we are working with scientists to develop resilient tomato varieties that can thrive year-round, even outside greenhouse conditions,” Mr Atobondi stressed.

He said their objective was to help farmers increase their yields and improve their incomes, and that to achieve this, they were emphasising that any agricultural inputs provided must reach the farmers directly.

Mr Atobondi said to ensure proper distribution, as well as access to training and education, there was the need for the farmers to form or join cooperatives.

He called on all farmers to organize themselves into cooperatives, to become eligible for their full support.

“This includes a comprehensive package of inputs, training, and capacity building, all aimed at boosting productivity and ensuring that we can meet the agricultural needs of the people of Ghana,” he added.

GNA