Agribusiness | EconomyGovernment owes suppliers of subsidised fertilisers; supply has ceased – Peasant farmersSource: Jessie Ola-Morris 27 April 2022 3:25pmPhoto source: GNAThe Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has bemoaned the unavailability of subsidised fertiliser to farmers due to outstanding debts owed suppliers by government.Head of Programmes and Advocacy for the Association, Dr. Charles Nyaaba said the suppliers are no longer willing to supply fertilisers at a subsidised cost due to an outstanding debt of about GH₵346 million owed them by the government since 2020.“The fertilizer companies are not willing to supply the subsidized fertilizer at the moment because according to them, the government still owes them ₵86 million for what they supplied in 2020 and what they supplied in 2021, the government still owes them ₵260 million cedis and these monies haven’t been paid yet,” he stressed.
Dr. Charles Nyaaba said this on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, on Wednesday, April 27, as part of conversations on the rising cost of food prices on the market.
He stated that this has adversely impacted their business since they no longer have access to affordable fertiliser, which is an important production input. Dr. Nyaaba warned that this can have further implications on the prices of food if nothing is done about the situation.He, thus, has called on the government to settle the debts owed to the suppliers in order to avoid a further degeneration of the situation.“It is the duty of government to settle them for them to produce the fertiliser, but as we speak we don’t have any indication as to when the government will settle them,” he stated.
