Farmers in the Kpassa market of the Nkwanta North District in the Oti Region have raised concerns over the drop in prices of their farm produce, attributing the situation to a shortage of buyers.
During a visit to the market by the Ghana News Agency, several farmers and traders mostly women were seen seated behind large basins filled with grains such as maize, soybean, gari, and dry cassava were waiting for customers.
Many of them lamented that the lack of buyers has forced them to sell their produce at prices far below the cost of production.
The farmers said they worked hard during the farming season, but now the prices were nothing to talk about, to even recover what they had spent on fertilisers and other farm inputs and even transportation cost.
Hajia Fozia, a trader, said the situation had persisted for several months with buyers from major towns and regions reducing their visits to the market, contributing to the low prices of farm produce.
Comparing the prices of their farm produced this year to that of last year, they said a bag of dry cassava, which was sold at a price above GHS1,000 last year, now sells at a price of GHS400, also gari, which sold at GHS1,000 now sells at a price of GHS600 per bag, this among many farm produce sells at a low price.
They however, called on the government to allow caterers under the school feeding program the opportunity to patronise from the locals to reduce their hardship.
The farmers also urged the Ministry of Agriculture to put measures in place so that they could also benefit from their hard labour since it took a lot of stress in farming.
GNA
