Ghanaian farmers to be sensitized on Good Agricultural Practices after establishment of the levy system

Smallholder Farmer Stakeholder Meeting in Ghana: Image Credit: team@syecomp.com

As part of efforts to ensure a more robust and efficient agrochemical industry by Croplife Ghana through advocacy for the establishment of a levy system, farmers who are the direct beneficiaries of the sector are to receive sensitization on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). 

This according to the Program Manager of Croplife Frederick Boampong will not only bring about higher crop yield but also result in the right application of agrochemical and Crop Protection Products (CPPs) for safer and healthier food crop production.

He added that though the main focus of the advocacy is to generate revenue to support regulators, training and sensitization workshops for stakeholders such as farmers to ensure full compliance to safety rules and regulations in the agricultural sector are essential for the overall achievement of the new initiative.  

A Joy News documentary in 2018 titled "Poison on the Menu" revealed how agrochemical products such as fertilizers and pesticides are wrongly applied to food crops by most farmers, rendering them unsafe for consumption.  This concern for health, therefore calls for thorough education and sensitization seminars for farmers, majority of whom are illiterates. Croplife Ghana as part of efforts to sanitize the industry through the establishment of the new levy system intends to embark on educational and sensitization programs for all stakeholders to make sure all regulatory protocols are observed.

Croplife Ghana is advocating for the establishment of a levy system through the review of the EPA 1994, Act 940, to generate funds for the full enforcement of the EPA Act whiles restoring sanity to the agrochemical industry.

About CropLife Ghana

Croplife Ghana is a national association of agrochemical importers and distributors in Ghana which is affiliated to CropLife Africa Middle East and part of the International Organisation CropLife International. It is a non-profit making organization with a current membership of nineteeen (19) major agrochemical companies in Ghana and counting. CropLife Ghana controls about 90% of the fertilizer market as well as about 75% of the pesticide market in Ghana. 

About BUSAC

The Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund is a programme set up to strengthen the advocacy capacity of private sector business groups and associations in Ghana.

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