The upcoming farming season will go ahead uninterrupted despite disruptions to the farm input supply chain, RMG Ghana Limited – a leading input provider – has assured.
This follows launch of the firm’s GH¢100,000 COVID-19 Farmers’ Support Programme and the acquisition of all needed inputs for the upcoming crop season at subsidised prices, the company said in what is seen as a coup for the country’s agriculture sector.
“Despite the havoc of COVID-19, RMG Ghana Ltd. has been able to secure all its inputs supply for farmers in the impending major seasons of the northern regions, and rest of the seasons for southern regions.
“Just as for the current season of the southern regions from Friday, 8th May 2020, all inputs required by farmers across the country will be stocked at all distributor outlets,” its Managing Director, William Kotey, said in a release made available to the B&FT.
Apart from the GH¢100,000 that will be used to purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for farmers, technical staff and distributors, the company says it is foregoing part of its margin to make farmers comfortable with discounts on products supplied, as part of efforts to cushion them in the pandemic period.
Among other things, it says it is in close discussion with its international suppliers to ensure other needs of farmers – hybrid seeds, crop protection products – are flown under special arrangements in this trying time. The support will also see a roll-out of educational campaigns at the community level to help prevent spread of the virus, starting from this week.
Meanwhile, all RMG-registered farmers into cotton, rice, maize, and soya will enjoy input credit, which is to be made available via farmer association executives.
“This is in line with the company’s commitment to empowering farmers to provide the needed agriculture on a sustainable basis to feed the nation.
“Farmers constitute a major group of frontline workers providing essential food services to the nation in this period. Their efforts ensure the sustainable supply of foodstuffs for the market. In line with government’s advice in protecting citizenry against the pandemic, the support programme will go a long way to protect farmers in their line of food production. Items to be distributed include face masks, hand sanitisers, carbolic soap etc.,” the statement added.
For his part, General Manager of RMG Ghana, Roland Quaye, mentioned that “farmers in Ghana have been part of the country’s economic success stories in recent and long-past times. As the world battles the global pandemic, farmers must be well-protected to continue feeding the nation. It is in this regard that the measures put in place by RMG Ghana Ltd. will go a long way to empower them in their line of work”.
The support, according to him, will therefore go a long way to protect farmers in their line of work and also empower them to produce more food for the nation. “The farmers we are empowering will be able to cultivate 60,000 acres of maize, 7,000 acres of cotton, 10,000 acres of soya and about 6,000 acres of rice.”
“RMG Ghana Ltd. is socially oriented in providing sustainable support to farmers in their production processes. Our priority this year is to support the national agenda to feed the nation,” added the company’s Commercial Manager, Martin Tetteh Nartey.
It is estimated that over 5,000 households will benefit from the GH¢100,000 support programme.
