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.
Speaking on JoyNews, the Executive Director said most farmers have lost their entire investments and wants the government to cushion these farmers so that they can replant.
“From now till October we expect the rains to be stable. So those who ploughed need government support in the planting materials, fertiliser, and agrochemical to be able to continue.”
“Those who lost their farms completely also need financial support to replough again and plant and some small subversion for them to be able to survive,” he added.
Dr. Nyaaba said areas like Techiman and Kintampo should have been harvesting by now, but the grains are not coming in.
He said the Northern Region is known as the food basket, adding that this would affect food prices.
“Northern Region is the food basket when it comes to maize, groundnut and others but this year nothing is coming in,” he said.
Dr Nyaaba said as a medium-term measure, farmers should adopt drought-resistant crops and also crops which mature early.
He also called for the improvement of the country’s irrigation infrastructure.
Source: Martina Bugri
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