As Ghana celebrates its 37th edition of Farmers Day, Apexnews-Ghana has been focusing its attention on Ghana’s former Members of Parliament who after moving out of Parliament, have decided to venture into farming as their lifetime business.
Mr. Inusah Fuseini is a Ghanaian Lawyer and Politician. He is a former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central constituency and the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
One amongst these MPs turned full-time farmer, is Mr. Inusah Fuseini. He was also the former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central constituency and the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources. As I write today, Mr. Inusah Fuseini is a full-time farmer. This year 2021, he was able to farm 300 acres of rice, as at today Saturday, December 4, 2021, he has already harvested 4,000 bags of rice for the season and hoping to harvest more. Mr. Fuseini said, he is happy and enjoying peace of mind with his current chapter in life.
Below is his engagement with Apexnews Ghana Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen on Farmer’s Day:
Question: What is the impact of government policy ‘PFJ’ to you as a farmer?
For me, the impact of the policy Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) on my activity is the fact that I am into seed production and my seeds will help the policy because peasant farmers will be able to have access to quality seeds for their farms at subsidized prices.
But, If you are a commercial farmer and you are into grains, you are not part of the PFJ. You have to buy your input from the open market. You don’t enjoy any subside, you buy your fertilizer from the open market, you buy your seeds from the open market, you buy your chemical from the open market a commercial farmer is not part of the policy initiative.
The policy is a poverty alleviation programme, peasant farmers who cannot afford quality seeds, we provide them with quality seeds at subsidized prices. So, when they plant and the yield grows, gradually they will be moving out of poverty because they will be getting better yield. They can’t buy fertilizer in the open market. For the commercial farmer, they presume we have the capacity to buy our farm input.
Question: What is your best interest as commercial farmer?
To be honest with you, most commercial farmers are not interested in subsidies, we are interested in the market. If I produced, how am I selling? Is there a market? You produced your rice, there is no recognized rice miller. There are small disjointed rice mills around and they buy at different standards, some come with a scale and others don’t come with scale, some of them in every 10 bags, they will collect a bag, some buy a kilo at Ghc1.00 and if you don’t sell, the price of your product will fall and if you have no warehouse to store the product, you will be compelled to sell at a lower price. And as a commercial farmer, if you don’t have a warehouse you will run at a loss because you don’t have a place to store your rice”.
That is the reason why when it’s time for harvesting you would see those buyers around trying to buy from commercial farmers immediately after the harvest because they don’t have a place to store their produce and that will force them to sell at a lower price.
“And as a commercial farmer, building a warehouse is expensive. So, the one-way government can help commercial farmers, is to build warehouses, so that commercial farmers can rent those warehouses for a period of 6 months. So, with that, if I harvest my rice and there is no market, I can go and put my rice in the warehouse for a certain period of time and before I take the rice I will pay rent, but the rent will be lower. So with that, the commercial farmer will be able to recoup his or her investment”.
“Apart from that, the problem for commercial farmers is how to get a market. Because, if the market is good we don’t need any government intervention because we will produce and sell. As a commercial farmers, we are producing to sell not to consume.
This year, I farmed 300 acres and I have already harvested about 4,000 bags of rice”.
Question: Would you say farming is better than being a Parliamentarian?
No, life is in chapters, what am doing now has its challenges and its experiences. It gives me peace of mind and happiness, it makes me conjure of myself, whatever I do, I do for myself, if I do good I do for myself and if I do bad I do for myself, if I put on hard work, am putting it for myself”.
So, I don’t need any motivation for anyone to tell me to work hard. I have to work hard because am working for myself. Unlike when one is in parliament, your party is on you, your constituents are on you.
“So, this time when I get up and say am going to the farm, am going to the farm, when am at the farm working and feeling tired and I say am going home, am going home, when I say I will get to the farm at 6 o’clock in the morning, I will go to the farm at 6 o’clock in the morning. So, in this chapter of my life, i am in control of myself”.
MORE TO COME
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