Govt distributes nearly 500,000 bags of free fertiliser as global price surge hits farmers

Government has distributed close to 500,000 bags of free fertiliser to farmers under an emergency intervention introduced to cushion them against rising global fertiliser costs, Minister for Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku has disclosed.

According to the minister, the free fertiliser programme was introduced after government realised many farmers were unable to secure good prices for their produce and would struggle to afford farm inputs at prevailing market prices.

"That is why we adopted free fertilisation this year as an emergency cushion. Because we realised that the farmers did not get good prices for their produce. And so, if we should allow them to go to the market and buy this input at the current price, it will reflect in the prices of food on our market," Mr Opoku said.

He attributed the increase in fertiliser prices to rising crude oil prices and the impact of tensions in the Middle East on global markets.

Mr Opoku said distribution of the fertiliser is ongoing, with the government aiming to reach farmers across the country, particularly peasant farmers, who make up about 80 per cent of Ghana's farming population.

"They produce for you and I to be fed," he noted.

The minister said the intervention is intended to protect farmers from rising production costs while helping to keep food prices stable on the domestic market.