Business News of Saturday, 4 January 2020Source: www.citinewsroom.comBuyers accused of exploiting local rice farmers in Northern RegionRaging fires, fuelled by the Harmattan winds, destroyed over 300 hectares of rice fieldsSome buyers of rice in the Northern Region have been accused of taking advantage of wildfires destroying rice fields to exploit farmers. The rice buyers have been accused of demanding that extra-big bags of their choice be used to measure the rice while others who purchased the produce on credit abscond. Mr Abdul-Rahman Mohammed, the National President of the Peasant Farmers Association (PFAG), said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a meeting in Navrongo in the Upper East Region, where the rice farmers deliberated on the sector’s challenges. He said he lost 100 bags of rice to a buyer who did not pay him. On marketing, he noted that since 2018, AVNASH had been instrumental in buying rice from farmers, however the patronage dropped in 2019 leading to a lot of challenges for the farmers.

Source: GhanaWeb January 04, 2020 12:45 UTC