Maize farmers in the Wa Municipality say although they are willing to increase production, they are unable to do so due to a number of challenges.
Key among these challenges is the lack of proper preservation and storage facilities.
Speaking to GBC’s Mark Smith, a 32 year old farmer from Jonga in the Wa Municipality, Tahiru Alhassan explained that due to the lack of a drying platform, he has already lost 2 bags of maize out of the total number he harvested from his six acre farmer.
He mentioned that he is sure to lose more bags when he harvests maize from the other 40 acres he cultivated.
The farmer said that he does not have a platform big enough to dry the large quantity of grain he produces and therefore loses a lot of his investment to Post-Harvest Losses (PHL).
“Because of the large quantity of maize I produce, I usually use tarpaulin but the one that I have is worn out.” he explained.
Mr. Alhassan said due to the lack of a bigger platform to dry the grain, rain had continuously fallen on the produce, leading to discoloration.
The farmer disclosed that this is a regular occurrence each year adding that “when that happens, I cannot sell those ones”.
The platform on his farm is a piece of clear land he dries his grain on.
The farmer stated that drying the grain on bare land has its own problems as ants in the soil feed on the grains.
Mr. Alhassan appealed to government to help farming communities like Jonga construct improved drying platforms to reduce their losses.
He also asked that government provide enough machinery like tractors, threshers and planters to reduce the financial on farmers.
A Policy Advisor with the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition, Emmanuel Wullingdool said it was unfortunate that farmers had to keep losing their investments.
“It is a worrying thing because resources have been committed to produce. Land, water and money and so if at the end of the day a farmer loses a chunk of that, then that should be a cause for concern for all; particularly when we are looking at an area where poverty is very high. Where getting to certain times of the year, people find it difficult to get three square meals a day,” he said.
Mr. Wullingdool said if Ghana is to achieve SDGs 1 and 2 which talk about No Poverty and Zero Hunger respectively, the country needs to implement policies that do not only concentrate on food production, but also food preservation.
The Policy Advisor encouraged farmers to always listen to the expert advice of Agricultural Extension Officers on which crop varieties to plant, when to plant as well as how to store food produce.
He was however, quick to add that government needs to do more in providing more extension officers as some communities do not have access to them.
Mr. Wullingdool also called on government to help small holder farmers construct proper drying platforms as well silos to help in the preservation and storage of grains.
He also encouraged farmers to use Perdue Improved Sacks (PICS) for the storage of their grains.
Story by Mark Smith
