Ghana’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Boniface Gambila Adagbila, has criticized the government’s decision to ban grain exports without proper consultation with stakeholders.
According to him, Ghana should have considered its cordial relationship with Burkina Faso and other neighbouring countries before declaring the ban on grain export.
He noted that the ban could have serious consequences if not carefully considered.
“I didn’t have any consultation; the minister is home, and he’s looking at his figures and thinks that strategically a temporal ban or a total ban may be the solution. But I wish it had been an issue of discussion before the ban could be decided. I don’t know if there was any cross-checking with neighbouring countries.
“Because we are supposed to have a policy of good neighbourliness and so it’s always good to discuss together to find solutions. They are serious to people across the border, across Ghana, colleagues and ministers like that should meet and discuss and find solutions for the people.
“Because when we try to do things independently, it’s like we are still dividing ourselves. Issues of reprisal: you do me, I do you. That’s why I’m saying that normally it would have been good to have a cross-border discussion.
“As somebody who has studied economies and agriculture also in terms of challenges like this, you think of import controls and export controls so that we don’t have these problems of ECOWAS and AU separation.
“I don’t know if we have looked at the quantities of produce that come from Burkina, Togo, and Ivory Coast into Ghana. Whether we looked at that, I don’t know if we have looked at the data,” he stated.
It will be recalled that the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, during a press briefing in Accra on Monday, August 26, announced the ban due to the dry spells affecting the northern parts of Ghana.
He explained that the ban aims to ensure food availability for the domestic market amid challenging weather conditions.
To mitigate the impact on farmers, Mr. Acheampong urged those with grain stock to contact district directors, aggregators, and the crops directorate across the country if they are interested in selling.
This measure is intended to support farmers and prevent them from suffering losses due to the export ban.
“With immediate effect, the government is placing a ban on the export of grains, including maize, rice, and soya beans, until the situation normalizes. This measure is essential to ensure the availability of these critical crops on the domestic market.”
“Any farmer with stock and interested in selling should contact our district directors across the country, our district aggregators, or the directorate of crops, Ministry of Agriculture. This is to ensure that farmers do not suffer adversely as a result of this ban,” he noted.
Story By Grace Tsotsoo Quaye
