By Fatima Anafu-Astanga, GNA
Sandema, April 25, GNA - Farmers in the Builsa District have praised the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) and the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) as one of the best agricultural commodity marketing methods, helping to bring relief to the farmer and prevent post-harvest losses.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr. Akparik Azikoora, a farmer at Sandema, said the new system had the potential to boost agribusiness and significantly increase returns to the farmer.
It provides surety and a better price compared with selling on the open market.
“When we send our maize to the market, traders do not give us good prices, so we prefer bringing our produce to the warehouse and depend on the buyers trading through the GCX for better prices.”
Mr. Azikoora who is a member of the ‘Azulichaab’ farmers group in Bil imuasa said he made GH¢6,000.00 from his 28-acre maize farm last year and indicated that the income supported him in the payment of his wards fees, family needs and operational costs.
Through training programmes organized by the GCX for farmers in the area, they were able to produce high quality grains and he expressed optimism that his income for the next cropping season would increase.
He raised concern about the transport cost and distance to the only warehouse in the area, and appealed to the government to build more warehouses in the district.
Mr. Solomon Akanpisi, the Warehouse keeper, said 250 metric tons of grade one maize had been stored there.
Since the start of the commodity exchange market, the area had seen brisk agribusiness.
Mr Akanpisi said 110 farmers had stored their maize at the warehouse, adding that out of the number 89 of them were women with some of them coming from the Builsa North, Builsa South and Nakong in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality.
Fifteen of farmers with grains of between 50 and 80 metric tons had accessed loans through various financial institutions using the WRS as collateral.
The warehouse is a platform for marketing both maize and soya beans, whilst ensuring good standards for the exchange.
He said through sensitization, the farmers had been empowered to make decisions on the exchange prices adding that they were happy with the prices they were getting.
More farmers were yet to know about the GCX and efforts had been stepped up by the staff and partners to aid all to participate in the structured trading to improve on their income levels.
The WRS is a basic step that provides a proof of depositors and affirm they have certain weight and quality of a certain commodity in a specific warehouse, which also provides the depositor access to a bank loan if the receipt is accepted as a collateral.
In determining the grains for acceptance at the exchange, some procedures must be followed to ensure cleanliness of the grain, moisture content and check insect infestation to avoid the grains getting bad.
There are also other levels of checks to determine the grading levels of the produce.
A depositor who wants to remain a trader at the exchange can send request to the GCX to sell off when satisfied with prevailing prices and within 24 hours the depositor is paid his or her money.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS