Smallholder farmers schooled on fertilizer application

Accra, Oct. 3, GNA - Smallholder farmers in the Northern Region, have been trained to adopt the use of appropriate fertilizer protocols and applications mainly in the production of maize and other cereals for increased and better-quality output.

The farmers had their skills polished on application of the fertilizer - YaraMilaActyva, introduced by Yara Ghana a leading fertilizer supplier in partnership with USAID funded by Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE).

The farmers were also taken through some training process on best agronomic techniques, good agricultural practices, harvest and post-harvest handling to ensure proper application of quality fertilizer to increase food security

A statement by Yara Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said the farmers lauded the training programme, saying it enlightened them on the purchase of right fertilizer which would improve crop quality and boost yields.

Yara Ghana has so far supported the establishment of 130 crop demonstrations farms - 100 maize and 30 rain-fed rice demos - with premium Yara fertilizers in collaboration with the USAID/ADVANCE Project in Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions during the 2015 production season.

It was also to ensure that the farmers comply with the right method of application without mixing any chemical to the fertilizer in order to derive the needed yields from harvest, it added.

It said 13,000 farmers from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions have benefitted from series of training on good agricultural practices geared towards shoring up crop production.

A visit to some crop demonstration farms at Ticheli, Surugu and Tibung, saw farmers applying the second phase of the fertilizer to the crops with excitement because the new technology has come to help boost production.

GNA