A former Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Dr. Charles Nyaaba, has accused the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of overstating the effects of the dry spell in the northern region.
In an interview on Channel One TV, Dr. Nyaaba claimed that the Ministry is exaggerating the situation to exploit funds meant for farmers under the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) 2.0 programme.
“The situation is not dire. I am currently on the farm. If you want I will do a video call. I am just sitting in a farming community to show the farms that we have here. The point is that they are looking for opportunities for the failure of PFJ 2.0 and to ‘chop’ money, that is the truth,” he stated.
He expressed scepticism over the Ministry’s intention to spend GH₵8 billion on averting the possible food crisis, citing past experiences where funds were allegedly misappropriated.
“Why would any farmer not be happy that the government is going to spend GH₵8 billion on them? Because in the past they have used our names to take money and spend it and that is exactly what they are doing.
“The ministry, I can point that the minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, the grant component of the money they are currently distributing to the farmers is not getting to them. They gave it to the MPs and the DCEs and one of them is hoarding them in their warehouses.
“But at the end of the day, it will be reported that farmers received these inputs. Is it the same thing they are currently doing? I am telling you, we are going to resist, whatever it will take, we resist it. Because you cannot continue to use this thing to enrich yourself,” he stated.
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