Farmers in karemenga in the Northeast region complain about the increase in the cost of fertilizer which makes it difficult for them to cultivate crops that requires a lot of nutrients for a proper yield.
According to the narration of a farmer in Karemenga, an acre of maize could yield approximately ten bags of maize on fertile land. A bag of maize currently costs GH¢250 which means ten bags of maize will be equivalent to GH¢2500. He added that the price of a bag of fertilizer currently costs GH¢500.
To ensure the proper yield of maize, an acre requires four bags of fertilizer, and due to the increase in the cost of fertilizer, a farmer will need to spend an amount of GH¢2000 to get four bags of fertilizer for an acre of farmland. Apart from that, the farmer will still need money to plough, buy chemicals and hire laborers. This means farming on an acre of maize farmland will render the farmer a loss.
According to the farmer, their greatest complaint is the inflation in fertilizer prices which is adversely affecting their farming output due to inadequate money to purchase more fertilizers to meet the need of their crops. Considering the high cost of living in the country, it would be very difficult for the peasant farmers to mobilize enough money for their farming activities.
The narrator said, ” I use to cultivate five acres of maize every year, but this year 2022 I cultivated only one acre simply because I can’t purchase more fertilizers for all the five acres” this makes life very difficult for most farmers in the north. Due to the inflation in fertilizer prices, the economy is likely to experience the following:
1. Decline in maize production; most farmers will not cultivate maize because of the cost of fertilizer.
2. Increase in the cost of maize: If farmers will not cultivate maize, then there will be a scarcity of maize leading to a high cost of maize and a higher cost of living respectively.
Content created and supplied by: Blacklove (via Opera
News )