The Head of Protocol at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Justice Quarm, has accused the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration of diverting agricultural machinery meant for smallholder farmers under the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme to party loyalists.

According to him, instead of distributing the equipment to farmers to improve agricultural mechanisation, much of the machinery was allegedly sold to influential figures within the party.

As a result, many smallholder farmers were left to continue working manually, despite the government investing heavily in modernising the sector.

Mr. Quarm made the allegations during an interview on the Ghana Yensom morning show hosted by Chief Jerry Forson on Accra 100.5 FM on Monday, November 17, 2025.

He disclosed that several machines imported under the PFJ initiative and kept at the Ahmarhia Engineering Centre in the Greater Accra Region went missing, leaving only a small number behind.

“The records showed 150 machines on paper, but only a few were available when the new government assumed office on January 7, 2025,” he stated.

He noted that it took the intervention of the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, and with support from the Peasant Farmers Association, to put the abandoned machines to use, some of which had been left to rot.

Mr. Quarm further revealed that the Ministry inherited a debt of US$300 million, including arrears owed for cereals Ghana acquired on credit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and outstanding annual subscription fees to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

To address the debt, he said Minister Opoku initiated steps to secure funding—approximately US$1 million—for the construction of an office complex and to channel it into repayment efforts.