Farmers in the country have lamented the lack of cash in their respective ‘seccos’ or buying centres at the GGC Depot in Kerewan.
Farmers indicated to this reporter that even though the farm gate price at the ‘secco’ is a little above the price of Senegal, they are appealing to the authorities to help them by making cash available to the “Seccos” so as to enable them sell their groundnuts in the country instead of taking them to Senegal or sell them to middlemen. Farmers from four ‘seccos’ of the GGC Kerewan Depot circle lamented a serious lack of cash in their areas; that they are given promissory notes for their groundnuts after it has been weighed.
This reporter contacted the authorities of the four ‘seccos’ who confirmed the complaints of the farmers and the giving of promissory notes, which they say is not ‘credit buying’ but ‘deposit’ buying.
According to the authorities at the four ‘secco’, the long duration it takes to receive the cash and the amount is what causes the problem of ‘deposit’ buying. They asserted that they are doing this so that their ‘seccos’ can have groundnuts; that otherwise farmers are likely to sell their produce to middlemen who will take all the nuts to neighboring Senegal.
The authorities at the four ‘secco’ have called on the Management of GGC to assist them regularize their depots so that they can discharge their loads quickly; that they should not allow the nuts to spend a long time at the depots before evacuation. The ‘secco’ authorities told this reporter that they have received three disbursements of cash for two ‘seccos’ and two, for the rest of the ‘seccos’ within the circle. They concluded that the two ‘seccos’ that received the three disbursements of cash, bought 150 tons worth of nuts while those with the two disbursement received 100 tons worth.
Kebba Ansu Makalo of Kerewan village said their groundnuts are stack at the ‘secco’ waiting for money and that drivers also spend days at the depot before they can discharge their loads.
Mr. Makalo stated that the other problems the authorities need to look at is fertilizer; that they as farmers need this important farm input which is available at the Kerewan GGC Depot, but not at the “Seccos’ for sale. He said they are in need of fertilizer but cannot have access to it.
