The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has announced that the government is proactively working with local fertiliser producers to produce quality organic fertilisers on a large scale for farmers across the country.
According to the sector minister, agriculture has taken a huge premium on the international market, adding that the mass production of quality organic fertiliser will make Ghana less dependent on inorganic fertiliser.
“We will have a close collaboration with local producers of organic fertilisers to see how we maximise your businesses to help us bridge the fertiliser gap, if not completely, at least we make the effort to bridge a higher percentage of the fertiliser requirement,” he assured.
Dr Afriyie Akoto revealed this information during a press briefing following a stakeholder meeting with local fertiliser producers on the production and promotion of quality organic fertilisers domestically in Accra on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
He attributed the ‘acute shortage’ of agro-chemicals generally, and fertilisers in particular, to the war between Russia and Ukraine, amid the international sanctions on Russia.
These developments, he said, were breaking the supply chain of fertiliser and making global trading very difficult. Ghana was no exception.
“In a catastrophic situation, you have to be able to adapt and come out stronger. So we feel that we need to encourage the production of quality organic fertilizer domestically,” he averred.
However, Dr Afriyie Akoto believed that in the wake of the challenge above, a significant amount of organic fertiliser production was possible in the country.
He urged the local organic fertiliser producers to avail themselves of the opportunities presented by the government to boost production to meet the fertiliser need of the farming population.
“We are prepared to work with you with our extension officers. We have the capacity in teaching the farmers how to adapt and apply these organic fertilisers. And given the opportunity out there, I believe you can supply more,” he confidently said.
He also encouraged the local producers to convince their foreign partners to come and set up fertiliser plants in the country.