Rice farmers at Amartey Kope, a farming community near Akuse in the Eastern Region, have acknowledged government’s continued support for their trade but are calling for a more direct and transparent delivery of that support, devoid of political interference.
The farmers made this known during a visit by officials from the AritaGlobe Foundation, who were in the community to assess the impact of climate change on farming as part of the Foundation’s ongoing Green Dialogue Series Project.
According to the farmers, while government has introduced several commendable initiatives to support agriculture, the challenge has always been getting the assistance into the right hands.
Speaking during the engagement, Mr. Jones Akpaglo, a local rice farmer, noted:
“Government can come in. For instance, government can give subsidies to farmers. Government needs to channel the resources through the right people so that those peasant farmers can get it,” he said.
He stressed that the issue is not the absence of help, but the way in which it is distributed.
“But sometimes because of politics, even though government will implement some good initiatives, but the product will not get to the people who really need it to put it to good work. We need to target those that truly need the assistance in order to let the intended purpose of those funds be realized,” he added.
He further described the high cost of rice production and the increasing risk climate change poses to their investments.
“Right from the land preparation, you need money because sometimes you have to spray the farm three times with weedicide before you prepare the land and then the machine that will come and plough the land too, all these things are capital intensive. And so imagine investing GhC 20,000 and at the end you get nothing. What happens to you? How are you going to take care of the family? All these are challenges that are really affecting us,” he lamented.
The AritaGlobe Foundation’s visit to Amartey Kope forms part of a broader effort to gather firsthand accounts from farmers affected by climate change. The insights gathered will contribute to a national report and documentary aimed at influencing policy and improving climate adaptation strategies for farmers across Ghana.
For the farmers in Amartey Kope, the message is clear: government support is appreciated, but it must reach the grassroots directly, fairly, and without political roadblocks.
