A growing chorus of voices is demanding transparency and accountability in state-led agricultural programmes, as stakeholders point to years of mismanagement and exploitation within initiatives meant to benefit Ghana’s farmers.
Bismark Owusu Nortey, Acting Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), has added his voice to the ongoing concerns, criticising the now-defunct Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme. In a candid interview on Breakfast Daily on Friday, April 25, Nortey painted a damning picture of how the flagship agricultural intervention, launched under former President Akufo-Addo, was allegedly hijacked by opportunists.
“What was supposed to be a lifeline for smallholder farmers turned into a business venture for politically connected individuals,” Nortey said. “The PFJ offered an opportunity for people to rip the state and make money at the expense of farmers. I think the PFJ was perpetrated on fraud.”
Nortey claims the rot began at the procurement stage, where contracts were awarded to companies lacking any track record in fertiliser importation. This, he argued, created fertile ground for corruption and inefficiency.
“There were several companies that were not into the import of fertilisers but somehow had contracts to bring fertilisers,” he said, highlighting what he believes was a systemic failure in vetting and monitoring processes.
Beyond procurement, he added that the distribution of inputs such as fertilisers was also riddled with irregularities. Reports of non-farmers receiving inputs, documentation being falsified, and supplies being smuggled across borders were cited as indicators of a deeply flawed system.
As the government rolls out the new Feed Ghana Programme, Nortey is urging policymakers to learn from past mistakes. He called for a more transparent, farmer-centered approach that prevents elite capture and ensures real benefits reach those working the land.
“The expectation is that the Feed Ghana Programme should not go that way. I am hopeful that we should see some remarkable gains, food prices stabilising, and the challenges facing the agriculture sector—well, we should solve half of them with this programme,” he added.
His remarks have reignited debate around the effectiveness of government interventions in agriculture and the need for robust oversight mechanisms to protect public resources and deliver on promises made to the farming community.
