Shai farmers want Fonton rice harvest

Rice farmers around the Shai Hills in the Greater Accra Region have called on the Government to facilitate their access to farm inputs to improve the cultivation of the grain in the country.

Mr Lemuel Kwashie Martey, the 2012 National Best Farmer and owner of Mannah Farms Limited, said he was delegated by the farmers to deliver their concerns to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

According to him, among the main requests of the farmers was the availability of the fonton rice harvester to reduce the drudgery and loss associated with manual harvesting.

The farmers blamed the secretariat of the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF), for allegedly frustrating their efforts at reaching the caretaker of a fonton rice harvester identified by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for their use.

Mr Martey appealed to the Minister of Food and Agriculture to streamline activities of GNAFF in the area to facilitate the work of farmers and fishermen to ensure that the sector regains its lost attractiveness.

But, Mr. Ebenezer Asante, Administrator of the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen, refuted with the farmer’s accusation.

However, he declined to discuss the plans being rolled out to help the farmers.