MPs call for more support for farmers

MPs call for more support for farmers
November 20, 2009
They said farmers have had to contend with huge interest rates on loans contracted and some have had to lose their lands over non-payment of loans and this was hindering the growth of agricultural sector.

Mr. Joseph Osei-Owusu, NPP MP for Bekwai, said young men in rural areas interested in small-scale vegetable farming were forced to look for quick loans with huge interest rates, which became difficult to re-pay.

Dr. Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, NDC MP for Mion, said the issue of access to credit for farmers and its management was not one to be left to any one particular group but it should be tackled by all stakeholders to deal effectively with the problem.

"What this means is that when the farmer defaults, inevitably, the land would be seized by the bank with the result that farmers are increasingly being rendered landless."

He also called for the provision of storage facilities and processing units to farmers to save their produce from perishing.

The Minister, who was answering a question on when the Bimbilla to Salaga highway road would be tarred, said the sealing project would link Bimbilla and Salaga to Tamale.

He said that stretch of road was gravel surfaced and in poor condition but under periodic maintenance programme in 2010, the drainage structures would be constructed on the worst sections of the road and the whole stretch graded to make it motorable.

GNA