Bryan Acheampong
The government has placed an immediate ban on grain export to help address dry spells that have led to the disruption of crop production in eight regions of the country.
The eight regions include Northern, Upper East, North East, Savannah, Upper West, Bono, Bono East and Oti.
The farming communities in the last two months have not had rainfall, which has severely impacted the planting season in many areas.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, who announced the ban at the Ministry of Information’s ‘Meet the Press’Â series in Accra yesterday, said as a result of the spell, crops that were sown in anticipation of the rains have been left struggling without sufficient moisture.
That, according to him, has led to fears of low yields and potential crop failure.
He said the livelihoods, investments and incomes of over 980,000 farmers cultivating estimated 1.8m hectares of farms are at risk, and the ripple effects on agricultural value chain actors.
Others that may also be affected are aggregators, processors, traders, transporters and the entire food supply across the country.
The minister said the government with other agencies has taken steps to ensure the safety and livelihoods of people, as well as food security.
 He also said some of the steps taken by the ministry include a temporary ban on grain export where government is placing a ban on export of grains including maize, rice and soya bean until the situation normalises.
“Mopping up stock from farms, any farmer with stock and interested in selling should contact their district department of agriculture, district aggregators, and Directorate of Crops of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture,” he said.
According to the minister, to ensure farmers are not adversely affected as a result of the ban, cash transfers of GH¢1,000 would be provided to over 928,523 farmers cultivating about 1. 8 hectares of farms as partial cover for their investment losses.
He said the government will also provide food grant to affected farmers to enable them meet the minimum nutritional requirement.
Other interventions the minister mentioned include seed replanting for farmers, which include fast maturing seeds that can still be planted within the remaining window of the season due to the failure of crops as a result of lack of rains.
“Farmers who need replanting will also be provided with grant fertilisers to ensure that they achieve a reasonable yield. This will help mitigate the financial burden on farmers who are facing additional costs due to the dry spell,” he said.
Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, also assured the public of his ministry’s preparedness to secure the country’s borders to prevent farmers from exporting any grain outside the country.
According to him, about 80 percent of all official routes for exports of food products will be fully secured with the support of all security agencies.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah