Farmers in the region are facing a severe economic crisis. According to Mr. Bumbass Yussif, Chairman of the Farmers Association, a combination of a supply glut and a lack of buyers has caused market prices to crash to unsustainable levels. This issue, he notes, is particularly acute in the Bono East and Northern regions.

The Chairman lamented that the price of a bag of maize has plummeted from over GH¢1,500 to as low as GH¢150–GH¢350. This drastic drop leaves farmers unable to recover the high costs of production, including expenses for fertilizer and labor.

“Despite a good harvest, we are struggling to find buyers,” Mr. Bumbass Yussif lamented.

Queenmother Nana Abena Owusuaa, who serves as the Linquist for Atebubu, along with other members of the association, highlighted the stark disparity between input costs and selling prices. "While the prices we get for our crops are low, the cost of fertilizers and chemicals remains extremely high, which is causing us significant losses," she explained.

The financial strain is having a cascading effect on the farming community. The association members emphasized that many farmers who took out loans for the planting season now face the prospect of imprisonment due to their inability to repay. Others are struggling to pay for their children's school fees, all while their harvested produce sits in storage, at risk of rotting.

The farmers pointed to a major disconnect in the country's food supply chain, where abundance in producing regions like theirs does not translate into fair prices, yet prices in urban centers remain high and stagnant.

To mitigate the crisis, Nana Abena Owusuaa is urging the government to establish a minimum support price for farm produce. She also called on the government to direct the national buffer stock company to immediately begin purchasing grains from local farmers and to address the critical lack of proper storage facilities in the region.

The Secretary of the Atebubu Amantin Area Farmers Association, Mr. Robert Glo, warned that the current situation could have long-term consequences. "This is expected to lead to a significant reduction in farming activity next season, which threatens the future food security of the entire nation," he explained.

The farmers are now waiting and hoping for a swift response from the government to save their livelihoods and secure the nation's food supply.