Programmes director of di peasant farmers association, Dr Charles Nyaaba don tell BBC News Pidgin say di ban on grain export by de govment of Ghana no be di solution to di suffering of di farmers.
Ghana minister for Agric Bryan Acheampong announce say goment don place ban on export of maize, rice, soyabeans and oda grains till further notice.
According to di minister, di move na to prevent shortage of di grains wey di drought don cause.
Farmers in many parts of di five regions of di north for Ghana say den don dey suffer afta drought don reduce dia yield.
Di farmers bin dey complain say di rain neva come for more dan two months wia dia crops don dey affected.
Di regions wey dey heavily affected by di drought dey responsible for more dan 60% of di kontri grain production.
“Wit immediate effect, di goment don ban export of grains wey include maize, rice, soyabeans until further notice wen di situation go beta,” di minister Bryan Acheampong announce.
“Dis ban na to ensure say dis grains dey available for di domestic market.”
Im add say “any farmer wey get stock wey dem wan sell gatz contact district directors across di kontri. Dis na to ensure say farmers no go suffer plenti as a result of dis ban.”
Dis na di second time goment dey take dis kind decision in three years.
For 2022, dem carry out dis same ban at a time di Russia-Ukraine war don dey happun.
Peasant farmers association criticize di ban
One of di farmer associations for di kontri say di move dey counterproductive.
Dr Charles Nyaaba tok BBC pidgin say di ban on grain export neva be di solution to di suffering of di farmers.
Im tok say “our past experience wia goment ban export of grains for 2022, show say di businessmen wey buy di grains from di farmers at low prices, na dem wey benefit.”
Im also tok say “di price wey di farmers don sell dia maize afta di last ban, neva allow dem to break even, na only few pipo wia smuggle di grains to neighbouring kontris, na dem break even.”
Oga Nyaaba also bin dey criticize di timing of dis ban on grain export.
According to di peasant farmers, “Ghana no get enough grain stock – we no get maize, we no get rice, we no get soyabeans even di ones wey pipo fit to smuggle to oda kontris serf we no get, so wetin you dey ban?”, oga Nyaaba tok BBC pidgin.
“Ghana dey depend on Burkina Faso for tomatoes, Mali and Niger for onion and livestock, so if una dey ban export of our grains to dis kontris, if dey retaliate now, who go suffer more?”.
Ghana also bin dey host di African continental free trade area wey for allow movement of goods and services for di continent, but di peasant farmers tink say “dis ban don dey undermine di agreement wia di kontris don sign.”
Even tho di farmer groups tok say goment neva consult dem bifor dey take dis decision, di peasant farmers say e neva too late.
“If goment consult us, like we fit provide some solutions wey go prevent any sakala wit neighbouring kontris. We gat to agree on price for di grains wey go make di farmer make small profit instead say some business pipo go buy di grains cheap and smuggle dem,” Dr Charles Nyaaba add.
Some farmers don lose dia investment
So far more dan 60% of di peasant farmers don dey affected by di drought.
One of dem na Ishmael Manaf, wey tok BBC pidgin say im no get up to half of im harvest.
On top im farm for di Upper West region, many of di maize crops don dry up.
“Di drought don affect us. Last year, we don cultivate 150 acres wia we harvest more than 3,000 bags of maize, but dis season we increase di farm to 350 acres but we no fit get up to 1,000 bags,” Manaf tok.
Im add say “even if di rain come now, e no go fit change wetin we don already lose.”
Anoda farmer, Nurideen Iddrisu explain say di lack of rainfall don affect im farm.
“I don apply fertilizer in June but e neva rain so e don affect all my crops.”
Last year, Iddrisu Nurideen don farm 20 acres of maize, but dis year im no know if im go fit get any yield.
“I get almost 150 kg bags of maize from my 20-acre farm last year, but dis year, wit no rain, di crops all spoil. I doubt if I fit to get even 50 bags from dis same 20-acre farm,” Nurideen don lament.
Beneji David na anoda farmer wey tok say im dey confused about wetin im go do for im farm.
“I don hire bulldozer to clear 38-acre land say make I plant sorghum, but currently as rain no dey fall, I no fit to plant di sorghum, so I don leave di land bare. I no know wetin I go do. I dey totally confused.”
Goment say dey go compensate di affected farmers
Already di livelihood of ova 920,000 farmers dey on di line, as di agric ministry begin dey try to reduce di impact of di drought.
Di ministry say more than one million hectares of farms don dey affected.
Di ministry don estimate say farmers don lose dia investment to di tune of GH¢3.5b ($225m).
Apart from di ban wia goment don announce, dey also wan raise $500m including $155m from di world bank and oda development partners to support farmers.
Di finance minister Dr Amin Adam say dey go use di moni wey dey go raise as compensation to di farmers wey dey affected, wit estimate of GH ¢1,000 per hectare.
Meanwhile di defense minister oga Dominic Nitiwul tok say goment go deploy security personnel to di borders to check say pipo no go smuggle dia grains to neighbouring kontris.
