Subsidising fertiliser for farmers a waste of money, says Pianim
Rethink policies to get educated into agric sector
Agriculture under the sun is hard, Economist
Economist, Kwame Pianim, has asserted that farmers sell the subsidized fertilizers from government because of low yields during harvesting.
He furthered that government’s policy of subsidising fertilizer for farmers is a waste of the country’s resources.
According to him, venturing into agriculture is not an easy task, therefore, not having a bumper harvest makes these farmers feel they’ve laboured in vain.
Speaking on Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday, December 16, the renowned economist said, it’s about time government rethinks its decision to attract the educated into the agricultural sector.
He said, “Agriculture is hard under this sun, so if you give me free fertiliser and I have to go into the sun to work and the yields are not going to come because it’s unpredictable and I don’t have irrigation, I will go and sell it [fertiliser]. So we need to focus … How do we get educated people into farming? It means mechanization; he can sit in his tractor and plough his farm…”
“So when you are putting money to subsidise fertiliser, it’s a waste of money,” he added.
Between 2010 and 2016, the agricultural sector has moved slowly at 3.6% compared to an average growth of 7.2%.
Due to this, government rolled out the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme in 2017.
The programme encourages farmers to adopt new technologies, such as improved seeds and fertilizers to improve agric productivity.
Meanwhile, some stakeholders in the agric sector have called for the removal of the FSP programme to ensure an optimal and steady supply of fertilizers to farmers nationwide.