Vegetable farmers lament low patronage, pests invasion of crops in West Mamprusi

Correspondence from North East Region

Some farmers who cultivate vegetables during the dry season at Banawa in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region are worried about the low patronage of their vegetables especially cabbage, which they say are rotting due to the unavailability of buyers to buy in large quantities.

The farmers in the area farm

Read full articledifferent varieties of vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, okra, and onions during this season for commercial purposes.

A cursory observation of the farmlands shows that the vegetables are flourishing well despite the continued gnawing of the pests.

In the same vein, the farmers are complaining of the high inflation of fertiliser prices which they say would have helped them to boost production if the prices could reduce through the planting for food and jobs program.

The farmers are compelled to produce organic chemicals by using the leaves of a neem tree and the seeds mixed in water which is served as pesticides for them to be spraying their vegetables.

Speaking to some of the farmers, Mohammed Abdul-Rahman says their major challenge is purchasing power.

"Our major challenge is lack of market, secondly wiring, but the major problem is the marketing. So we don't know how to sell it. There is no market here. Everything is ready to harvest but nobody comes here to buy it. Secondly, fertilizer, so recently one bag of fertilizer is Ghc300. So the major problem is about the marketing, the wiring, and the weevils, some weevils are attacking them," he said.



In this regard, the farmers in the area are seeking support from the government to assist them with chemicals that are meant for robust vegetable growth and fertiliser to salvage the situation for them.