PFJ was built on fraud – Peasant Farmers Association

Bismark Owusu Nortey, the Acting Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, criticized the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme. He called it a “fraud” that benefited opportunists at farmers' expense.

Nortey spoke on Breakfast Daily on April 25. He urged a closer examination of government agricultural programs. He believes these programs often serve as money-making opportunities for well-connected individuals.

“The PFJ allowed people to exploit the state and harm farmers,” he said. He claimed that problems with PFJ began during procurement. Several companies without experience in importing fertilizers received contracts.

Nortey argued that these questionable contracts led to systemic abuse. “Some companies had no background in fertilizer importation but got contracts,” he stressed.

He also highlighted failures in the distribution process. “Non-farmers received fertilizers, and some were smuggled out of the country.” Invoices and receipts falsely indicated supplies were delivered to districts.

This situation shows that PFJ, intended to boost food production, was compromised at many levels. Nortey expressed hope for the Feed Ghana Programme's success. He expects it will stabilize food prices and address challenges in agriculture effectively.