Mahama expresses concern at government's decision to sell fertilizers to cocoa farmers

Former President John Dramani Mahama is expressing concern at government’s decision to sell fertilizers marked “not for sale“to cocoa farmers. He says it is insensitive for the Akufo-Addo government to sell fertilizers, which were distributed for free to farmers during his administration.

Addressing delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Upper Denkyira East constituency in the Central Region on Monday, ahead of his four-day flagbearership campaign tour of the Ashanti Region, Mr Mahama said the NDC government under his watch, worked in the best interest of cocoa farmers and provided them free fertilizers as well as annual increases in the producer price of cocoa.

He was therefore surprised that the government of the New Patriotic Party under the leadership of Nana Akuffo-Addo, after all the lofty promises it made to the farmers when in opposition, would now be charging farmers for fertilizers marked “not for sale”.

“When we were in government, we were increasing the producer price of cocoa every year, and also providing the farmers with free fertilizers, but the NPP government has now made a U-turn and is selling it to them even though it is not supposed to be sold, and clearly it is insensitive to do that to the farmers,” he noted.

Mr Mahama further said the government also established the Cocoa Road Fund for the construction of major roads in cocoa growing areas but the Akufo-Addo government has stopped that and the road projects, including the Obuasi-Dunkwa road, have been abandoned.

He said if the NDC had been retained in government, all the cocoa road projects would have been completed by now.

Mr Mahama was however hopeful that the NDC would be elected in the 2020 elections for the party to complete the abandoned projects as well as work hard to reduce the high cost of living and also provide jobs for the people.