The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has said it did not expect the severity of the drought situation in Northern Ghana.

However, the Ministry has assured of a partnership with the Ghana Meteorological Agency to decide the best way forward.

The Head of Public Relations, Tanko Bagbara disclosed this in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM.

“The Ministry [of Food and Agriculture] over the period has worked closely with the meteorological station and we do heed their advice, but we did not foresee this and I do not want to blame anybody because all I know is that rain-feed agriculture is something you cannot predict naturally to the latter.

“The Ministry has gone to work and as we speak, we are still collecting data. So far, we have eight regions affected and the latest is the Upper East region and Northern region and for the past one and a half months, they have been affected by drought and the Ministry is collating this data that will inform a decision going forward,” Mr Tanko said.

He further assured the Ministry has began compiling the names of affected farmers to facilitate the necessary intervention.

“We all heard the President give a hint that the government will soon announce some interventions to mitigate the drought situation.

“Certainly, it is going to affect food security because a lot of farms have been lost completely and even if it rains today, there is no way we can recover those farms and so the ministry is putting data together and very soon the government will announce some interventions,” he assured.

The absence of rain has not only put crop yields at risk but also threatened the livelihoods of many families who depend on agriculture for their survival.

In light of this, the Director of the Peasant Farmer Association (PFA), Dr. Charles Nyaaba, has called on the government to declare a state of emergency in areas affected by the drought.

He said the situation is dire, and therefore, there is a need for emergency measures to address the issue.

Dr. Nyaaba stated that, the drought has affected not only the five northern regions but also the middle belt.

Source: Adomonline.com

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