Peasant farmers call on government to address post-harvest losses
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has called on the government to show more commitment in addressing the perennial post-harvest losses suffered by farmers in the country.
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The association also asked the government “to take deliberate steps to ensure that post-harvest management is effectively integrated into all agricultural programmes, including the ‘Planting for food and jobs’.
Policy dialogue
Speaking at a national policy dialogue on post-harvest losses and food and nutrition security, the Programme Coordinator of PFAG, Madam Victoria Adongo, also called for the implementation of available post-harvest technologies and increased budgetary allocation to the sector.
The dialogue, supported by The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), was to examine the current state of post-harvest losses and food nutrition in the country. Participants also made recommendations on how to improve on the sector.
Madam Adongo stressed the urgent need to increase budgetary allocations on post-harvest management, ensure transparency and accountability from implementing agencies.
“While the one-district, one-warehouse, as well as one-district, one-factory are laudable and long-term solutions, current short-term challenges such as bad road infrastructure, inadequate machinery, extension services and the adoption of simple post-harvest technologies need to be urgently addressed,” she added.
She expressed concern that even though there were available and varied options in reducing post-harvest losses, the adoption rate in Africa and Ghana, in particular, remained miserably low.
“From training in improved handling to better storage facilities, interventions exist that would enable smallholder farmers to improve quality and quantity of grains during post-harvest handling and storage,” Madam Adongo further stated.
Nutrition deficiency
Quoting a 2014 USAID report on the nutrition profile of Ghana, she said the report gave a “grim picture on nutrition challenges, with the greater burden being in the three regions of the north.”
“According to the report, as many as 1.2 million Ghanaians are considered food insecure and chronic under-nutrition,” she said, adding that there were both national and regional disparities in under-nutrition.
Commitment
The Country Programme Coordinator of the SNV, Mr Eric Banye, also called for a collective responsibility in addressing post-harvest losses and ensuring food and nutrition security.
According to him, SNV is committed to building capacities of civil society organisations to enable them to effectively carry out their respective advocacy roles.
Concern
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture and Cocoa, Mr Kwame Asafu-Adjei, expressed concern that in spite of their hard work over the years, Ghanaian farmers were still poor due to the lack of adequate support to the sector.
He commended farmers for their dedication in feeding the nation and pledged more support from the government to help the agricultural sector thrive.
