Deputy Minister designate for Food and Agriculture, Kennedy Osei Nyarko says he is not in support of the free fertilizer distribution program that was started by the erstwhile NDC administration to assist farmers, especially cocoa farmers throughout the country.

According to the Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, government is woefully under resourced to pay for the full complement of fertilizers distributed to farmers, adding that it is best when heavily subsidized.

“I don’t support the distribution of free fertilizers to farmers. Because of the limited resources government has, I think it best when heavily subsidized so farmers can afford to buy. There are over 5 million farmers across the country and for a fertiliser to be given to them all for free I don’t think government can afford.”

Government in April 2016 began the free fertilizer distribution programme which sought to provide over 2.5 million bags of fertilizer for farmers throughout the country.

The process was, however, marred by acrimony and theft with most farmers complaining the fertilizers end up in shops for sale.

Kennedy Osei Nyarko who appeared before the Appointments committee of Parliament to be vetted for the position of Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture has since justified government’s decision to scrap the program.

Mr. Nyarko Osei also responded to questions ranging from steps to be taken to modernized the agricultural sector and make it attractive to the youth to how to bridge the gap between industry and agriculture.