The lack of funds to support the work of agric officers in some parts of the Northern region has been revealed to be hampering farming activities in those areas of the country.
Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District Agric officer in-charge of extension services, Mr Gammeh Stanilous said the District Agric Department has not received any stipends from central government since the beginning of year, compelling many of them to spend part of their ‘meager salaries’ to render extension services to farmers.
This development, he said, puts pressure on their merger salaries. The disappointed officer said he cannot sit in the office doing nothing and knowing that farmers need his services, but the lack of resources is dwindling his efforts.
Speaking in an interview on the sideline of a stakeholder sensitization forum on Part 3 of the Plant and fertilizer Act, Act 803 in Sawla, Mr Gammeh said the inadequate extension services is impacting negatively on farming activities since they are not able to go to each community to meet farmers and give them extension services.
He said they only travel to farmers who have special cases and have invited them.
The Project manager of Ghana Agricultural Associations and Business Information Centre (GAABIC), Mr Isaac Kombat advised the farmers at the forum, mostly were women, to do due diligence to ensure that the fertilizers they buy are the right type of fertilizers their crops needed.
He asked them to report to the agric officers closer to them in case of purchasing an adulterated fertilizer.
The Part 3 of the Plant and fertilizer Act seeks to regulate and control the distribution of fertilizers in Ghana and also safeguard and protect the interest of farmers.
The workshop which is intended to give awareness to the public to prevent ignorance of the law is being funded by Feed The Future, a USAID initiative and Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP).
The sensitization forum has so far been organized in the Tamale Metropolis, Yendi Municipality, West Mamprusi District, Nanumba North District and the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District.
