Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has allayed the fear of a looming food shortage in the country and expresses optimism of enough rainfall to ensure food increase in the country.
According to the ministry, a recent visit to five regions in the forestry zones revealed a lot of farmers had really invested in their farms in spite of challenges the country was facing.
Director of Crops Services of the MoFA, Mr Seth Osei-Akoto, disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times in an interview at a farmers’ field day on Concept Green Organic Powder Fertiliser, at the weekend.
Concept Green is an organic fertiliser made in Germany that is to be packaged in Ghana.
It is expected to reduce the burden of farmers purchasing high cost of inorganic fertilisers imported by the government.
He said, “I was surprised to see that in spite of the challenges Ghana is experiencing as a country, farmers have really gone to their farms, and with the rainfall we are now experiencing, there will be enough food, there will be no food crisis.”
Mr Osei-Akoto indicated that in Ghana, the talk of food was the reliance on legumes, plantains, cassava, yams, sorghum, cowpea, rice, soybeans, and others, “and putting these together, with the rains in now, there is nothing like looming food crisis in the country.”
On the Concept Green fertiliser, the Director of Crops Services mentioned that it was good news for farmers in the country, saying that “apart from it being low cost as it is packaged in Ghana, it could also ensure high yield of crops.”
Mr Aaron Owusu, Consultant to Covenant Farms, an importer of the organic fertiliser, said there was ongoing discussion with the German company to set up the factory here in Ghana, adding that discussions were almost through.
He pointed out that it would be very cheap for farmers to afford since the raw materials would be from Ghana “as there are lots of compost here.”
Rev. John Manu, Ashanti Regional Director of MoFA, was full of praise for the importers of the product and called on farmers to embrace it for their benefits and for Ghana.
The meeting brought several farmers to witness a maize demonstration farm of the concept Green Fertiliser at a MoFA farm in Kumasi.
Among the personalities were Mr Abraham Odoom, Consultant to the National Service Kumawu Youth Agriculture Project, in Ashanti.
He mentioned that 50,000 acres of land had been acquired for integrated farming and that 20,000 acres of the land would be used to train the youth and when they complete the training the remaining 30,000 acres would be distributed to them for farming.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
