The Minority on Saturday urged the government to purchase rice in the north to fulfil its intended buffer stock project to encourage farmers to increase production. It said the government pledged in its budget that it would pursue a "programme for purchasing buffer stocks and also increasing processing to reduce post-harvest losses" for maize and rice to be used in buffer stock project.
Mr. Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader in a statement said that pledge meant that farmers must increase production of rice in return for government guarantee prices and adequate facilities and which have turned sour. He said a visit to some parts of the Northern Region showed that "many farmers with barns full of rice could neither market nor store in modern facilities."
Mr Bagbin said a farmer had produced 3,500 bags of paddy rice last year and the government purchased a 1,000 bags from him on credit and has since failed to settle the debt. "His broken down machines and implements cannot be repaired in good time for this year's farming activities."
"As it is turning out, the sweets of electoral success must have been strong on the Finance Minister's tongue when he red out the plethora of budget promises for the year. Mr Bagbin regretted that there was so much hunger in the country where paddy rice was wasting away up North and the farmers were being furious and frustrated because government has failed to honour its side of the unsealed deal with rice farmers in the North.
He said "until our rice farmers are guaranteed attractive prices for their produce, government can hardly ever achieve the 2001 budgetary target to reduce rice importation by at least 30 per cent in value from the approximately 100 million dollars spent on importing rice annually to supplement local production."
The Minority Leader said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in its haste to send signals of positive change to Ghanaian farmers "sounded the dinner bell at a time when there was nothing on the plate." Mr Bagbin reminded the government that large-scale rice production goes beyond getting farmers to increase the size of their farms.
"Much groundwork should have been done to facilitate post-harvest activities especially, in processing and marketing. Encouraging farmers to step up production without first building a buffer stock project to take in the excess produce is an irresponsible waste of farmers' resources and time."
Mr Bagbin reminded the government to make good one of its promises to utilise the 100,000 metric tonnes per year world class rice mill at Aveyime to its fullest capacity while prompt action must be taken to empty the rice barns up North and in other parts in the country to guarantee some capital for farmers to cultivate more rice. He said the farming season has began and the poor farmers do not have time to spare.
