Minority chief Franck Annaud-Dompre has warned of a rising nationwide meals rationing disaster, saying excessive colleges (SHS) are affected by a scarcity of important gadgets whereas meals is rotting on farms.
In an open letter to President John Mahama on Wednesday, Rep. Nsawam Adagiri described the state of affairs as a “severe governance and administrative failure” with harmful penalties for farmers, college students and the nation’s meals safety.
“Meals shortage is mostly a priority, however so is meals surplus. Sadly, we’re at present witnessing each,” he stated.
He stated farmers who produce grains, roots and tubers are unable to promote their crops, and colleges proceed to face shortages attributable to a damaged meals distribution system.
“Grain, root and tuber farmers are reporting little or no gross sales of their crops,” he stated, including that establishments such because the Nationwide Buffer Inventory are constrained by “slim funds allocations”.
Annaud Dompre stated the disaster is impacting scholar welfare and tutorial efficiency throughout the nation.
“Persistent meals shortages and meals provide disruptions in excessive colleges symbolize severe governance and administration failures with direct social penalties,” he wrote.
“Insufficient and irregular meals provide undermines scholar well-being, impacts focus and tutorial efficiency, and places pointless strain on faculty operations.”
He painted a grim image of farmers dropping hope as their crops go to waste attributable to lack of markets and storage techniques.
“Final yr, our farmers did their half to usher in a bumper harvest. However in the present day, there isn’t any market, so the produce rots,” he stated.
“Tomato farmers in southern Ketu are unable to promote their crops even on the lowest costs, whereas households in Accra purchase costly imported tomato paste.”
He additionally questioned why native produce stays costly regardless of the bountiful harvest.
“Corn farmers cannot discover patrons, but a bag of native rice is dearer than parboiled rice imported from Vietnam or Thailand. This contradiction is destroying the very foundations of our nation,” he stated.
The minority chief warned that many farmers had been abandoning farming altogether as a result of they might now not maintain manufacturing.
“Farmers who can’t promote their crops can’t afford to purchase seeds, fertilizers or labor for the following planting season. Many farmers are abandoning their farms altogether, threatening future famine,” he warned.
“Some individuals are promoting their farmland to actual property builders in desperation.”
Annaud Dompre blamed the disaster on the dearth of a powerful agricultural advertising and marketing system, insufficient storage infrastructure and poor department strains.
“The shortage of agricultural advertising and marketing committees to ensure minimal costs, lack of storage infrastructure (silos and chilly chains) and neglect of feeder roads signifies that the wealthy produce goes to waste,” he stated.
He referred to as on the President to ascertain an emergency agricultural buying plan, open up strategic meals reserves, and create a transparent framework for feeding public excessive colleges.
