GHANA- Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program, a key aspect of the country’s agricultural policy aimed at improving food production and food security, faces significant challenges due to increasing input costs.
According to the Ghana Report, rising prices of agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides threaten the PFJ program’s financial viability.
Global supply chain disruptions have caused this increase in input costs, narrowing farmers’ profit margins. The increasing fertilizer prices threaten to further increase food prices. Staple foods like waakye, gari, kenkey, and beans are becoming increasingly unaffordable for the average Ghanaian.
The onset of the cropping season has also increased the demand for fertilizers, which has a direct impact on the aggregate cost of inputs, especially as farmers transition from subsidized fertilizers to market prices. A 50kg bag of Urea fetched GHS 450 (US$29.64) between January and May, compared to GHS 380 (US$25.03) in Q4 2023. Ammonium Sulphate prices have also increased by 2%, and NPK prices have increased by 5%.
These high fertilizer costs contrast with neighboring Togo, which has maintained stable fertilizer prices despite global supply chain shocks. Fertilizers like NPK and Urea are distributed to 230 stores nationwide at subsidized prices to meet demand during both on and off seasons.
Stakeholders and players have called on the government to urgently intervene and mitigate the high input costs. They propose measures like reinstating subsidies, especially in fertilizer, reducing import tariffs, and offering extension services to farmers. Some call on the government to provide certified seeds to farmers.
These interventions would help alleviate the financial strain caused by high input costs, enhance Ghana’s agricultural resilience, and sustain the program’s contribution to the economy.
The interventions are especially necessary as food inflation in Ghana continues to rise. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, the consumer price index (CPI) for Q1 2024 experienced a 1% increase, while year-on-year inflation was 29.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
However, the Ghanaian government has not announced such interventions. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has initiated phase 2 of the PFJ program, farmer registration.
