Create markets for vegetables – Best Farmer

Mr Patrick Acheampong, 1998 Techiman District Best Farmer has appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to create a ready market for vegetables produced in the country.

He said tomatoes, pepper, garden-eggs and okro produced in the district, particularly at Tanoso in the Brong-Ahafo Region, were getting rotten on the farms to the detriment of farmers.

Mr Acheampong, who also won the Brong-Ahafo Regional Best Youth Farmer Award in 1999 made the appeal when conducting newsmen round his 13-acre pepper and tomatoes farm and a four-acre okro farm at Tanoso.

He noted that farmers, who ventured into vegetable production, were being affected by post-harvest problems and called on the government to provide them with drying machines for storage.

Mr Acheampong said unless vegetable farmers were supported with modernized drying machines and marketing, they would continue to work in vain.

He complained that the production of pepper, okro, garden-eggs and tomatoes were a burden to farmers because of low market prices of their produce, which was discouraging vegetable farmers.

Mr Acheampong called on the government to endeavour to establish a processing plant to enable farmers to add value to their produce to increase production and gain more profits.

He commended government for the subsidy on fertilizers and other farm inputs that had improved technology in farming.

Mr Acheampong appealed to buyers to assist vegetable farmers by offering encouraging prices for their produce to enable them to re-pay their loans.

He stressed the need for MOFA to help make farming more attractive with the provision of modern technology to encourage the youth to venture into farming.

Source: GNA