The government must institute measures, including monitoring, to prevent price variations of subsidised fertiliser across the country.
A new report by SEND Ghana indicates that the price variation in subsidised fertiliser affects the quantity of the input the farmers can afford, thus making their yields lower.
Ensuring a standard price across the country will also ensure that investments being made by the government to support the initiative do not go waste.
“Generally, the price changes have affected the quantum of fertiliser farmers can afford. This has consequently affected their yield as well as the size of their farms,” Send Ghana said in a report, “Making Fertiliser Subsidy Helpful to Smallholder Farmers.”
Farmers over the years have reported price changes. The 50 per cent subsidy component in 2008 declined to 21 per cent in 2015, representing a reduction of 58 per cent within the period.
The report by SEND Ghana for the Northern Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Platform on Agriculture cited that the price of compound fertiliser was GH¢22 per 50 kilogramme (kg) bag in 2008, but increased to GH¢89 per 50 kg bag by 2015, indicating a 295 per cent rise.
Findings
The study funded by Care Denmark identified an emerging trend where some agents went in to be supplied with fertiliser by the importers only for them to shy away when they go bankrupt after distribution.
“Who pays for that cost? Distributors are more careful who they accept as agents. Consequently, in some districts such as Sawla-Tulna-Kalba, farmers have to travel long distances to access fertiliser because there are no agents in their area. Funding in the sector plays a key role in addressing the problems.
‘’The government must put in place an effective monitoring mechanism so that investment in the sector will not go waste,” the Programme Officer of SEND Ghana, Mr. John Nkaw, said at the launch of the report in Accra.
The government introduced the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP) in 2008 as a rapid intervention to help increase food production.
Mr. Nkaw said to ensure that the FSP reached its target beneficiaries and attained its goal, it was important that pragmatic steps were taken to collaborate with the fertiliser companies to establish distribution outlets in communities, to help reduce cost and travel time.
More recommendations
The study recommended that access to fertiliser at the right time at the beginning of the farming season was critical to good yield.
Also, in promoting the use of subsidised fertiliser in the country, the government needed to increase its investments and take advantage of other funding opportunities in the private sector to increase resource allocation for the supply of more fertiliser.
“Agric is the mainstay of the economy so we need to find money to invest in the sector. It’s again an issue of prioritisation because as a cornerstone to our economic development the main ingredients of modernising agric include investments. Government alone can’t do it,” Mr. Nkaw said.