Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, has instructed the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to compensate farmers who suffered losses due to avian influenza or the Bird Flu outbreak between 2015 and 2018.
According to the committee’s Chairman, James Klutse Avedzi, the directive comes after the 2022 Auditor General’s Report revealed that a significant portion of the allocated compensation funds, exceeding GH¢1.8 million, remains unused in the Ministry’s account.
The Ministry of Agriculture contends that the funds have not been distributed because affected farmers have not provided the necessary details to the Ministry.
“I am sure you have a list of the farms that are affected and a certificate for destroying the birds as well. All that you need is to have the affected farmers’ bank details to do the transfer, and I am sure that you have the contact details of these farmers”, he said.
Klutse Avedzi therefore ordered the Ministry to locate the affected farmers and disburse the funds within the next month.
“So we are giving you one month to disburse the monies to them quickly. Call them so that they will give their bank details so you can do the transfer for them”, he added.
