· The agricultural productivity in Ghana suffered a setback due to shortage of fertilisers and destruction of crops by rains that led to this decision to restrict exports.
In a bid to ensure food security, the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of Ghana has stopped issuing phytosanitary certificates for the export of maize and soya beans. PPRSD, falls under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), and provides certification for agricultural exports. The directive from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) will impact Ghana’s export of these products to Niger, Sierra Leone, the Republic of Congo, the United Kingdom, Qatar, the United States, Italy and Canada.
The directive was based on the fact that the country did not have sufficient quantities of these commodities whose production is subsidised. Due to the ECOWAS Protocol on the free movement of people and goods, Ghana cannot impose a unilateral ban on the movement of commodities but can only restrict it.
According to available data, Ghana’s exports of maize amounted to 250,147 kilogrammes (kg) in 2019. The export of flour and meals of soya beans from the country was estimated at 54,500kg for the same period. The tremendous growth in export of soya and maize led to shortages in supply of the commodity within the country, which is used as livestock feed. The agricultural productivity in Ghana suffered a setback due to shortage of fertilisers and destruction of crops by rains that led to this decision to restrict exports. Experts say that the measure was long overdue, to ensure food security within the country. Countries in West Africa like Burkina Faso and other countries had already imposed bans on the export of those commodities since last year.
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