Agric ministry overexaggerating dry spells to siphon money — Charles Nyaaba
Former Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Dr. Charles Nyaaba, has accused the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of overstating the impact of drought in northern Ghana.
Dr. Nyaaba claimed that the ministry was taking advantage of the dry spell as a pretext to mismanage funds allocated 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 skepticism about the ministry’s plan to allocate GH₵8 billion to prevent a potential food crisis, pointing to previous instances 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.
“I can point out 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 said on Channel One TV on August 31.
Background
The ongoing dry spell has devastated key agricultural regions across Ghana, with preliminary reports indicating that nearly half of the 1.8 million hectares of farmland in eight regions are already impacted.
The lack of rainfall in parts of the country for several weeks is affecting farming and raising concerns about potential food scarcity and price hikes in agricultural produce.
Although it is the farming season, the northern part of the country, as well as the middle belt, have seen little to no rain for the past two months, devastating crops and leaving farmers distraught.
However, President Akufo-Addo has directed the Finance Ministry to raise a GH₵8 billion relief package to assist farmers grappling with the devastating effects of the ongoing dry spell in the eight regions.
The relief package will include cash transfers, food supplies, and other essential items for the affected farmers. A technical task force, comprising officials from the Ministries of Finance and Food and Agriculture, will oversee the distribution to ensure fairness and accountability.