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The Upper West West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, has taken steps to stop the smuggling of fertilizers for the Plant for Food and Employment program ( PFJ) in neighboring Burkina Faso.
As part of these initiatives, the Minister, accompanied by the Director of Cultures of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Regional Director of Agriculture of the Upper West, conducted negotiations with his Burkina counterparts in Leo, Burkina Faso, on Friday to chart a favorable path to end the chancre.
Dr. Bin Salih noted that fertilizer smuggling aimed at improving agriculture in Ghana was a concern and called for collaboration between the two countries to address the threat.
"The smuggling of fertilizer from Ghana to Burkina Faso is a worrying situation for the Ghanaian government and people. We are here to inform you so that you can work with our security officer to solve the problem.
"Because fertilizers are subsidized, they have been marked in a certain way, so when they are smuggled, it is very easy for us to identify them and we have received information on the images of the fertilizer on the market here.
"That's why we came to inform you officially so that we can start collaborating and if you meet people who come with these marks, you will stop them and let them come back to Ghana," said Dr. Bin Salih. .
He also urged the population to stop using contraband fertilizer and distribute it to farmers in Burkina Faso, adding that this was also happening in Ghana.
The team asked to inspect certain stores in Leo District to ensure the veracity of PFJ contraband fertilizer in their market, but their request was rejected on the grounds that the Minister of Sector of Burkina Faso was not aware of the inspection.
Dr. Bin Salih also spoke of the need for the two countries to work together to tackle the problem of insecurity in both countries, especially in the surrounding areas.
"Those of them who come to Ghana would have understood that we had reinforced the presence of security guards along our borders with Burkina Faso, but that should not scare the real people who want to come to Ghana to doing business, "he explained.
Dr. Bin Salih also urged the police, the Customs Division and the Ghana Border Immigration Service to be vigilant and seize any truck contraband that has been sent to Burkina Faso and to provide them with better protection. reward if a truck was impounded.
"We have agreed with the people of Burkina Faso specifically Leo, today, to report any incidence of smuggling.If you are able to stop any vehicle carrying contraband fertilizer, we have a nice reward for you.
"But on the contrary, if you let them pbad without any arrest and that the Burkinabé customs division reports to us all trucks impounded, we will ensure to sanction all the agents on duty that day," he said.
For his part, the Secretary of Leo District High Commissioner Kone Yahaya said that the Burkinabe government is also implementing a similar program to help farmers, but regretted that their fertilizers were also smuggled into the country. .
He therefore suggested that Burkina Faso's trade minister liaise with the Ghanaian Minister of Trade to establish a joint control unit to fight the canker caused by fertilizer smuggling.
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