Fix bad roads in farming areas to curb post-harvest losses – Esoko urges Gov’t

Commodity price survey Service Company, Esoko Ghana, has reiterated the need for government to be deliberate about fixing roads leading to food producing areas of the country.

The Content Manager at Esoko Ghana, who made the call, told Citi Business News many deplorable roads in farming areas of the country contribute to the worsening post-harvest losses as some produce delay in getting to the market centres in the absence of adequate warehouses.

Government has labeled this year as the Year of Roads in the 2020 budget, but it appears a lot may not happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has thrown off government’s budget.

Content Manager at Esoko Ghana, Francis Danso, says maintaining good roads in farming areas must be a priority for the government.

“We need to invest in our roads. The time taken to transport the commodity from the production areas to the major marketing centres will reduce. This will also help to alleviate the situation so that we have enough during the period of harvest.”

Earlier, Esoko Ghana, had asked government to speed up its construction of warehouses to prevent post-harvest losses with the harvest season inching closer.

But a Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Nurah Gyeile, says 80 of the warehouses are under construction, whiles they are seeking to add 50 more this year.

The project is in line with government’s one district, one warehouse project, to provide storage for farm produce which was launched in 2018.