Vegetable farmers in Pusiga district call for PFJ support

Over 250 Vegetable farmers in the Pusiga district, Upper East Region, are calling for the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) policy support to provide them with subsidized farming inputs to increase their production this dry season.

The dry season irrigation farmers who cultivate Onion and pepper as cash crops and green leafy vegetables for domestic consumption want farm inputs such as fertilizer, improved seeds and pesticides to help them get good yields.

Mr Mohammed Paeda, leader of the Kolnaba community vegetable farmers’ group in the district, made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Tuesday, to make known the difficulties and needs of dry season farmers in the area, as the farmers start nursing the vegetables in December/ January.

The farmers also produce cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, Tomatoes and Garden eggs.

He said the farmers who also do rainy season farming on the banks of the white Volta, lost most of their produce to floods during the last farming season and were in dire need of support to increase production during the dry season to enable them make up for the loss.

“Many of us lost all our farm produce to the floods and we are pleading with the government to support us with inputs in time to enable us farm this dry season before the rains set in”.

Mr Paeda said even though smuggling of the subsidized inputs especially fertilizer was rampant in the area, security measures were instituted by the farmers to support government to stop the menace as most farmers were losing and running out of business due to the smuggling of farm inputs out of the area.

He said vegetable farming was a lucrative business and urged stakeholders in Agriculture including; government to give it a priority and invest towards its development.

Mr Paeda said the Pusiga district had the potential to produce vegetables in large quantities, to feed the country and reiterated his appeal to government and its development partners to empower farmers in the area to produce quality food to enhance food security.