allAfrica.com: Ghana: Farmers Protest Signing of EPAs (Page 1 of 1)

Ghanaian farmers have added their voice to the call on government to desist from signing on to the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) which is expected to top the agenda at the 6th Summit of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries which begins tomorrow, Tuesday, September 30 and ends Friday, October 3.

Currently, the government has initialed the EPAs light despite calls from the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and other bodies urging it not to sign the agreements due to the dire consequences they will have on the agricultural sector and other sectors of the economy.

According to tomatoe and rice farmers in the Eastern and Central Regions, if government signs on to the EPAs it would lead to the total collapse of the agricultural sector which is the backbone of the economy.

During a two-day tour of Asutsuare in the Eastern Region and Okyereko in the Central Region, the farmers who are likely to be the worst hit by the EPAs, indicated through their representatives that with the current deplorable state of the Ghanaian farmer it was impossible for them to compete with their European partners.

The Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC) organized the tour as part of its efforts to have a first hand assessment of governments' policy of banning imported tomato paste and the institutional purchase of local rice and poultry which was introduced last year and the likely negative impact of the EPAs on these policies should it come into force.

Mr. Jacob Kwabla Kpodo, on behalf of tomato farmers at Ada, highlighted the numerous challenges affecting the cultivation of tomatoes in the country which include the lack of access routes to their farms, their inability to purchase modern equipment to meet current trends, difficulty in accessing loans from banks as well problems associated with the marketing of their products.

He said that with all these challenges bedeviling the Ghanaian farmer, and government's lack of commitment to salvage the situation, the signing of the EPAs would have a devastating effect on the livelihoods of the ordinary farmer and their family.

Mr. Kpodo indicated that the government's decision to ban the importation of tomato paste from November 1 of last year led to an increase in their yields, accessed new variety of tomato seeds, got a ready market for their products and also witnessed an increase in youth involvement the production of tomatoes.

According to him, instead of government signing on to the EPAs, it should rather renovate the many tomatoes factories across the country and make efforts in putting up new ones.

"We do not have the factories that would help us package our tomatoes to meet international standards so any effort to open up our markets to the international world will mean an unfair competition," he added.

Mr. Elvis Donkor, Administrative Secretary of the Asutsuare Co-operative Society, in his presentation commended the government for the introduction of the institutional purchase of local rice and poultry.

He indicated that the introduction of the policy made it possible for rice farmers in the country to get a ready market for their produce and this led to increases in their yields.

Mr. Donkor said that if government signs on to the EPAs it would mean that both international and local producers would have a level playing field when it comes to the issue of institutional purchase of rice.

In addition, he said that that instead of government reducing taxes on rice importation, it should maintain or even increase them and use the taxes to support the local industry.

Ms. Mary Lee, a rice farmer, said that any attempt by government to sign on to the EPAs would mean creating jobs for those in the outside world while Ghanaians would become more unemployed because of the likely influx of products from outside.

She urged the government not to consider the immediate benefits of financial assistance that would come to it because it signed on to the agreement but then the consequences such a policy would have on the agricultural sector.

At Okyereko, the Vice President of the Okyereko Co-operative Society, Mr. Emmanuel Amoak, called on the government to seek the interest of the Ghanaian farmer and not that of donor countries who would always want the best for their country.

He indicated that whereas it costs the Ghanaian farmer about $450 to get produce a tonne of rice, a farmer in Europe spends about $275 on the same tonne because of subsidy from their governments.

The Coordinator of the GTLC, Mr. Ibrahim Akilbila, said that the two-policy initiative by government was an indication that it has the strength to introduce policies that would be beneficial to the Ghanaian.

He, however, said that since the government introduced the two policies efforts to get the modalities spelt out have been very difficult although they were hopeful of getting a positive reply soon.

Touching on the EPAs, he said that although the government has initialed the EPAs light it was not an indication that it would sign on to the real EPAs.

Mr. Akilbila said that the agreement places the country against powerful and developed partners whose enterprises and industries would be treated like Ghanaian companies.

"The agreement ensures that Ghana cannot use tariffs as a development tool with one of its biggest trading partners to advance the development of the country thus the use of government procurement to support sectors to grow is under treat in the EPAs, he said.

He said that to drum home their message to government the Coalition and other partners would organize a demonstration today to the Ministry of Trade and Industry where they would present a petition to government on the stands of farmers.

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