Some farmers in the Upper West Region (WR) have expressed optimism that the establishment of the government’s proposed Farmer Service Centres in the region will help address challenges in accessing mechanisation services.
They said it will also help improve agricultural production, food security and the livelihoods of farmers in the region.
The farmers said the inadequate availability of tractors and other modern farming equipment in their communities delayed land preparation and planting, resulting in reduced yields and financial hardship.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Jonga in the Wa Municipality, Mr Daubile Alhassan Ibrahim, Assembly Member for the Jonga Electoral Area, said the limited number of tractors in the area made farming difficult, particularly for women.
According to him, women smallholder farmers are often disadvantaged in accessing mechanisation services because men usually secure the few available tractors first.
Some women farmers in Jonga also described the situation as discouraging. Madam Kende Aziz said the scarcity and high cost of tractor services restricted many women to cultivating smaller plots despite their capacity to farm larger areas.
Another farmer, Madam Salima Osman, said women always have to wait several days to access tractors because men were given priority.
Also, Madam Iddrisu Arashidatu, another farmer, noted that the lack of combined harvesters contributed to post-harvest losses caused by fire, animals and delayed harvesting.
At Daffiama in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District, Mr Edward Ziema Kpieonoma, a Unit Committee Member, said farmers sometimes spent entire days searching for tractor services to no avail.
He explained that while farmers previously relied on bullock farming, cattle theft had forced them to depend largely on tractors, as manual farming with hoes and cutlasses was labour-intensive.
Madam Agnes Bara, a farmer in that community, said women were disproportionately affected by the shortage of tractors and that some had abandoned farming because of the challenge.
She also expressed concern about the increasing number of young men leaving farming for illegal small-scale mining, partly due to the challenges in the agricultural sector, including accessing mechanisation services.
Madam Esther Bongamwine, another farmer, cited the high cost of farm inputs as an additional burden to many women farmers since they could not afford mechanisation services and inputs such as fertiliser, which are essential for improving yields.
For instance, ploughing an acre of land costs between GH¢350.00 and GH¢400.00, while fertiliser costs between GH¢400.00 and GH¢500.00 per bag.
At Serekpere in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, Madam Cedonia Kantayen said farming had helped households save money on food, but financial constraints and the high cost of tractor services, labour and inputs continued to affect production.
The farmers, therefore, appealed to the government to expedite the implementation of the Farmer Service Centres, saying the initiative would ease access to mechanisation services such as ploughing and harvesting and reduce the burden on farmers.
The women farmers also called for dedicated tractor services to help them avoid competing with men for limited equipment.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), ahead of the 2024 general election, pledged to establish Farmer Service Centres across the country to modernise Ghana’s agricultural sector.
Reports indicate that the Wa East and Daffiama -Bussie-Issa Districts were among the first 50 districts selected for the programme.
By Freda Mwini/Osman Seidu Nipa, GNA
