A retired Director of the Department of Agriculture has advised smallholder farmers, especially those who cultivate cereal crops, to patronise the services of the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) to maximise their income.

According to Victor Yao-Dablu, the stress of dealing with the open market has not been helpful to smallholder farmers over the years.

He said the GCX, through the warehouse receipt system, is better placed to help farmers avoid post-harvest losses. 

"This system also offers better pricing to make the smallholder farmers competitive in the farming business since GCX is a regulated national and regional market that links buyers and sellers of agricultural and non-agricultural products," he explained.

Mr Yao-Dablu urged farmers to recognise that the days when they were helplessly shortchanged by commodity middlemen and open-market buyers are over.

He said the GCX has come in handy to salvage the post-harvest predicaments of farmers and improved harvesting and post-harvest management practices aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity.

He encouraged smallholder farmers to acquire the best farming practices and enhance their skills development to make them more competitive and gain access to the GCX system while improving food security.

“The Agriculture Extension Officers (AEOs) are always available, so engage them to train you in practices such as harvesting matured farm produce at the right time, storage techniques and operating electronic weighing machines," Mr Yao-Dablu added.  

He stressed the need for farmers to know the appropriate practicalities in applying weedicides and fertilisers on improved crop varieties.

“Farmers must be meticulous with the use of fertilisers and weedicides because the use of wrong agrochemical and misapplication on food crops threatens human health and the environment," he emphasised.

He entreated smallholder farmers to refrain from blindly copying unscientific practices from their peers but to seek regular advice from the extension agents.

He also advised farmers to wear protective clothing whenever they apply agrochemicals on the crops.

Mr Yao-Dablu stated, "The smallholder farmers must adhere to the improved methods of applying chemicals, particularly the recommended dosage and appropriate application time to enhance crop yield and protect the environment as well".

He further said if the farmers can master all the improved agricultural practices, their farm products will be of high quality, and they can sell to the GCX and maximise incomes.