Barely a week ago when the Upper West Regional Minister in his bid to fighting fertilizer smuggling in the region meant for the Planting for Food and Jobs Program, urged the people of Upper West to all be vigilant and report any suspected fertilizer smuggling to the police for necessary actions; two trucks loaded with 50kg of fertilizer believed to be smuggled fertilizer in the Upper West Region was impounded on by the National Security Laision Officer on 26th April 2019 in Wa.
The tracks which contained two thousand bags of unapproved fertilizers were intercepted by the National Security in the Upper West Region.
Two articulated trucks carrying 50 kilogrammes of fertilizers from a vendor John Dor Ventures at Nkoranza to B.B. Slow, a distributor at Gwollu in the Sissala West District were both impounded.
Interacting with the media after the seizure, the Regional Security Liaison Officer Ben Suuri said government had banned the transportation of fertilizers meant for the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) to the five regions of the north to prevent smuggling.
The Regional Security Liaison Officer Ben Suuri said only fertilizers weighing not more than 25 kilograms can be transported to the northern half of the country.
Transporters must first inform the Regional Coordinating Council which will in turn inform the District Assembly where the fertilizers are destined for.
The District Assemblies, led by the District Agriculture Officers are also expected to confirm that the entities receiving the fertilizers in the districts are licensed to distribute fertilizers for the Planting for Food and Jobs Program.
The Upper West Regional Minister whiles addressing a gathering of chiefs and people of Takpo in the Upper West Region two weeks ago indicated to them that, the fertilizer that comes into the region is enough for farmers to enjoy the subsidy. He entreated all stakeholders in the region to be alert and vigilant so that unscrupulous people do not divert the fertilizer to other areas for sale.