Kofi Essah and other farmers wants to be enrolled on the Planting for Food and Jobs programme
Farmers in the Ashanti Region are facing a significant threat from climate change, with some districts recording an alarming drop in crop yields.
Some distressed vegetable farmers in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District have revealed that their crops are reduced every year due to the negative impact of climate change.
This growing crisis has prompted calls for the government to implement strategies to safeguard food security and jobs in the agricultural sector.
One of the leading members of the Vegetable Farmers Association at Fufuo in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District, Kofi Essah, spoke about the adverse effects of climate change on peasant farmers in rural areas.
He spoke to OTEC News reporter Jacob Agyenim Boateng on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
"Peasant farmers in rural areas are the most affected by the myriad of challenges brought on by climate change, and I can use my situation as a case study," he said.
"Just this year, I cultivated six acres of okra farm, and after nurturing it for a period of time, hoping to get enough yields to cover my investment, the crops began to die in a sudden turn of events. I realized that the crops failed to mature after the rains stopped, coupled with consistent heat from the sun. I have lost huge sums of money because the okra farm failed to yield the needed results," he said.
He disclosed that the farmers face a similar situation where they are counting their losses after losing their cultivated crops due to the adverse effects of climate change.
The vegetable farmers at Fufuo have therefore appealed to the government to enroll them in its flagship program, Planting for Food and Jobs.
They noted that access to farming inputs and loans has been very difficult, stressing that the PFJ project was one way to solve that problem.
The farmers again called on the government for modern irrigation systems to enable all-year-round farming for improved yields.
