Farmers in Bono East are urging government to intervene in opening international market opportunities for agricultural produce to reduce post-harvest losses and boost incomes.
Mr. Patrick Acheampong, 2025 Bono East Regional Best Farmer, said Europe, Asia, and the United States offered potential markets that could absorb the region’s produce, noting that a lack of ready buyers led to significant wastage annually, discouraging farmers.
In an interview, Mr. Acheampong called for subsidies on agricultural inputs to make farming more attractive to youth and encourage expansion of economic activities in the sector.
“The high cost of inputs, coupled with limited market access, has become a disincentive to the more than 3,200 registered farmer groups in the region,” he said. “While transport fares, petroleum prices, and labor costs have increased, farm produce prices have remained largely unchanged, squeezing farmers’ margins.”
As one of Ghana’s major food baskets, Bono East stands to benefit from government support in connecting farmers to international markets, which Mr. Acheampong said could create jobs for unemployed youth and drive economic growth in the agricultural sector.
He commended the government’s Feed Ghana initiative, noting that many farmers in the region were preparing for its full operationalization and expected it to complement efforts to expand market access and improve productivity.
