Ghana: Organic growers call for government recognition
The members of the coalition pointed out that Kenya enjoyed such support from its government - backing it and promoting it.
Mr Richard Ananga, Consultant and Service Provider of Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC), suggested that the government did not seem to attach much importance to organic agricultural practices.
“The challenges of organic farming also include lack of organic inputs, lack of extension services, no certification, no premium prices, lack of technical know-how and the aggressive marketing strategies of conventional input dealers”, he said.
Mr Ananga said that information for potential organic grower came mostly from college farmers and NGO field officers, which left plenty of scope for the government to get involved.
Currently the situation is such that organic produce is not even recognises as being organic, which meant that growers were unable to extract the premium price that they would be eligible for in other lands.
He called for a National Organic Standard and Certification Authority (NOSCA) along the lines of Internally Controlled Systems (ICS) for each region or production zone.
Source: vibeghana.com
