News:
January 25, 2013
The Minister designate for Food and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado, has expressed his desire to work tirelessly to arrest the smuggling of fertilizer across the borders of Ghana when he if finally given the nod.
He said one of his first moves in this regard will be to convene a stakeholder meeting with the Fertilizer Subsidy Commission, to review fertilizer pricing to determine the element that can be put on the price of the product such that it will be advantageous to the farmers while also discouraging cross-border smuggling.
The issue of smuggling the farm product from Ghana to neighboring countries over the years has been a common due to the lost cost of fertilizer as compared to the high prices of the product in neighboring countries, a development which has become a course for concern among farmers and other stakeholders with several calls on the authorities concerned act swiftly to nib the criminal act in the bud.
Appearing before the Appointment Committee of Parliament for vetting on Friday, Hon. Clement Humado stated that his ministry will intensify collaborative efforts with the security agencies to clamp down on miscreants who will still want to smuggle fertilizer outside Ghana.
“I’m confident that if we tackle the issue of smuggling fertilizer from the point of pricing and also engaging the security agencies to man our approved entry and exit routes will go a long way in stopping the illegal trade’’ he said.
He emphasized the need to have the fertilizer which the country needs for each season on time as sometime the delay in having the product impacts negatively on the yield of the product.
Hon. Humado pledged to ensure that under his watch the fertilizer import market will be opened up to importers to enable them bring in enough fertilizers for the country’s use.
Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh