Agric Ministry bans two fertilizer suppliers

The two companies recently arrested at the Paga border attempting to smuggle fertilizer meant for the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme out of Ghana have been banned.

The two companies are the Intercontinental Agro Group and Dematar Ghana Company.

The ban imposed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) followed the impounding of two articulated trucks each, which carried a total of 2,000 bags of NPK fertilizer meant for the PFJ.

They were arrested by the security agencies at the Paga border in the Upper East Region last month.

The trucks were attempting to cross the Paga border into Burkina Faso when they were arrested by the security forces.

The fertilizers were meant to be offloaded at Navrongo.

The Upper East Regional Director of MOFA, Mr Francis Ennor, who made this known to The Mirror on Thursday, intimated that although the two companies have been blacklisted, it would not affect the supply of fertilizer especially to the region.

On what happens to the fertilizers that were impounded, the director indicated that a list is being compiled currently to supply the fertilizers to vulnerable groups like the youth and women who are into farming but are not able to get access to the fertilizers.

According to him, the fertilizers have been kept in a warehouse at the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council.

Mr Ennor explained that the two drivers of the trucks were earlier on detained by the police but were released later after investigations.

He noted that the two blacklisted companies may not be allowed to participate in any future government flagship programmes.

The government decided to subsidise fertilizers under the PFJs so as to help increase food production to address the high import of foodstuff into the country.

The government this year branded its subsidised fertilizers for easy identification to curb smuggling.

Source: Graphic.com.gh