Bryan Acheampong Says Drought-Affected Farmers Will Receive GH¢1,000 Each

• The Food and Agricultural Minister has denied that the government is seeking to win votes by distributing money to farmers
• Bryan Acheampong's clarification was in response to an allegation made by Haruna Iddrisu about the ruling NPP party
• Clarifying things, the minister said the money was to help farmers pick up from where they left off and acquire fertilisers

Bryan Acheampong, the Agriculture Minister, has denied claims that the government is disbursing GH¢3,000 each to 800,000 farmers affected by the drought in northern Ghana for ulterior reasons.

He was responding to the minority leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, claiming that the government was using the funds to lure farmers to support the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 elections.

The farmers in the northern sector of the country had recorded devastating losses following a dry spell that had left their plants withered.

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To provide them with some support to get them back on their feet in preparation for the upcoming planting season, the government decided to distribute some cash and other farming amenities.

However, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is convinced that the intervention is less about the need to support the farmers and more about the NPP’s ambition to break the eight in the upcoming election.

Reacting to Dr Forson’s statements, Bryan Acheampong rejected the notion that the government was merely farming political support through its intervention.

He stated that the government’s intervention would only see vulnerable farmers receive GH¢1,000 each to help alleviate the financial burden caused by the harvest losses.

The minister added that the intervention was to also help farmers access subsidised agricultural inputs, particularly fertilisers, essential for maintaining their farms as the dry spell continues.

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Mahama blames Akufo-Addo for dry spell

YEN.com.gh also reported that the NDC's presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama, said the NPP is responsible for the long dry spell in the country’s northern sector.

According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration's governance is responsible for the disrupted rainfall in the north, which has affected crops and threatened Ghana’s food security.

Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh