Government is to subsidise price of fertilizer

Government is to subsidise 150,000 metric

tons (3,000,000 bags) of fertilizers at a total cost of GH¢69.8

million under its Subsidy Programme for the 2011 farming season.

The programme, which started in 2008, was to assist farmers

increase crop productivity and production in the country.

Dr Kwame Amezah, Director of Extension Services Directorate and

Coordinator of the Programme, disclosed this at a press conference to

announce its commencement for the 2011 farming season.

He explained that the programme was initiated as a result of low

fertilizer usage and its attendant low productivity in Ghana.

Dr Amezah said from 2008 to 2010, government had spent about

GH¢85.1 million as subsidy on 207,215 bags of fertilizer sold to

farmers by fertilizer companies within the three year period.

He said in 2011, Government was determined to ensure that the

country’s fertilizer application rate increased to 20 kilogrammes per

hectare to be at par with the rate in Africa.

Dr Amezah said Government’s policy on fertilizer programme for

2011 entailed absorbing port handling charges, agent’s commission and

margins to the fertilizer companies to arrive at prices that would be

affordable to the small-scale farmers.

It also included absorbing the cost of transportation to ensure

each type of fertilizer at the same price across the country by the

fertilizer companies, opening the scheme such that all farmers and

crops were included in the scheme, and using the waybill-receipt

system to manage the scheme.

Dr Amezah said the way-bill system would be employed in the

distribution and sale of fertilizers and fertilizer companies would be

allocated quotas of various fertilizers for use by the farmers.

He said: “These companies shall import, clear the fertilizers

from the ports, pay all charges and deliver allocated quantities of

various types of fertilizers to designated Regions and Districts for

sale to farmers by their registered sales agents.

“The recommended subsidy per 50 kilogrammes will be paid after

sales, presentation and reconciliation of the relevant waybills by the

companies, authenticated by the Regional and District Directors of

Agriculture”.

Dr Amezah said based on the agreement with the fertilizer

companies, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture announced the selling

prices of various types of fertilizers required by farmers, for the

2011 farming season as: Compound fertilizer (NPK) – GH¢30; Urea –

GH¢29 and Sulphate of Ammonia (SOA) – GH¢25.

He said the full cost of NPK fertilizer was GH¢56 Urea – GH¢51

and SOA – GH¢40 and urged farmers to take advantage of the programme

and increase productivity.

Dr Amezah advised farmers to report any dealer selling above the

stipulated prices to MOFA officials in their area of operation or

where they purchased the fertilizer.

He said measures were being instituted to arrest and prosecute

anybody found smuggling fertilizers across Ghana’s borders.

On prompt payment to fertilizer companies, Dr Amezah said the

World Bank was supporting the programme and other agriculture support

programmes with 57.7 million dollars and an agreement would be signed

next Wednesday, May 18 and hoped to pay the companies by the end of

September.

Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), said it

was important to keep the approach of announcing the programme to

enable farmers have easy access to the fertilizers.

“It would also have been more appropriate to launch the

programme on the farm to make it more practical,” he said and urged

the Coordinator to consider the suggestion in subsequent launch.

Source: GNA / Ghana