Rice farmers in the Amartey Kope community in Akuse are calling on the government to urgently intervene as they grapple with the devastating effects of climate change on their farming activities. The farmers say erratic rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and high production costs are pushing many of them to the brink of collapse.
During a visit by officials from the AritaGlobe Foundation as part of its Green Dialogues Series project, one of the farmers, Mr. Jones Akpaglo, expressed concern over the lack of accessible support systems for smallholder farmers, despite the government’s many agricultural initiatives.
“Government can come in. For instance, the government can give subsidies to farmers. Government needs to channel the resources through the right people so that those peasant farmers can get it,” he said. “But sometimes, because of politics, even though the government will implement some good initiatives, the product will not get to the people who really need it to put it to good use. We need to target those who truly need the assistance in order to let the intended purpose of those funds be realised.”
He further painted a bleak picture of the challenges farmers face, emphasising the heavy capital investment required and the growing uncertainty in yields due to changing climate patterns.
“Right from the land preparation, you need money because sometimes you have to spray the farm three times with weedicide before you prepare the land. And then the machine that will come and plough the land too — all these things are capital-intensive. And so, imagine investing GHS 20,000 and at the end, you get nothing. What happens to you? How are you going to take care of your family? All these are challenges that are really affecting us,” he lamented.
The AritaGlobe Foundation’s Green Dialogues Series is a nationwide climate awareness campaign that seeks to give a voice to local farmers and promote policy discussions around sustainable agriculture and climate resilience.
