WHY UTZ CERTIFICATION IN GHANA IS DIFFICULT

Though the concept of UTZ is a very good and has been embraced by most if not all Ghanaians, there are some major problems that makes it very difficult to carry out Certification in Ghana.. 1. SMALL FARM SIZES: One problem associated with Certification in Ghana is that the farms are of very small size and as such you have to get a mass number of farmers and bring them together as one. This makes trainings and meetings very difficult and your transportation cost huge. 2. MOST FARMERS ARE ILLITERATE: Most Ghanaian farmers are uneducated and as such makes it very difficult for them to learn modern agricultural practices that included in the Utz Code of Conduct. Due to this most farmers still use their traditional farming methods which does not fully support Land Utilization and increased yields. 3. RECEIPT KEEPING: One requirements of UTZ is that farmers should keep records including receipts of chemicals that they purchase and in Ghana since the agrochemical is not for sale it becomes very difficult for farmers to get records for this as they are not given any by the government agency. The chemicals given to them too is woefully inadequate and as such leads farmers to go to the black market to buy chemicals which some of them might be unapproved. ................. to be continued...........