Dr. Charles Nyaaba, a former Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, has accused the government of overstating the effects of the recent dry spell in northern Ghana.
This accusation follows statements from the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, who reported that 435,872 farmers in northern Ghana, covering 871,745 hectares, have been severely affected by the dry spell.
The Minister claimed that farmers have lost approximately GH₵3.5 billion in investments, with potential revenue losses estimated at GH₵10.4 billion.
He also stated that the government would need around GH₵8 billion to prevent a food crisis.
On The Big Issues on Channel One TV, Dr. Nyaaba disputed these figures, arguing that the situation is not as severe as the ministry suggests.
“While peasant farmers were among the first to report the dry spell, the number of affected farms and farmers projected by the ministry is significantly higher than what we are seeing on the ground. The situation is not as dire as reported,” he said.
Dr. Nyaaba also speculated that the government might be using the dry spell as a pretext for any potential shortcomings of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) 2.0 program.
“When this whole thing happened, what we have said within ourselves is that this is another opportunity for the ministry to get an excuse for the failure of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) 2.0.
“Honourable is aware [referece to the Deputy Minister of Agric], which part of northern Ghana do we plant in September? So, if there is an issue and you say you want to provide farmers with seeds and finance to plant in September, where is the data that they gather on the number of farms that are destroyed?
“What is the impact so far on the projected PFJ 2.0 that within one month, we are projecting to use Ghc 8 billion to address an issue which is non-existent,” he questioned.
