Smallholder farmers schooled on fertilizer application

Smallholder farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana have adopted the use of appropriate fertilizer protocols and application skills mainly in the production of maize and other cereals.

According to the farmers, the introduction of the fertilizer –YaraMilaActyva by Yara Ghana, a leading fertilizer supplier in partnership with USAID funded Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) has helped improve the crop quality and expects to harvest more.

The farmers who were 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 saw the need to purchase the right fertilizer for their crops.

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

This came to light when officials of Yara and the USAID/ ADVANCE paid a visit to the various demonstration fields of their beneficiaries to find out the progress of the farms after the training and the application of the Yara fertilizer products.

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 harvest the needed yields which would go a long way to improve their living conditions.

13,000 farmers from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions have benefitted from series of training on good agricultural practices which will help boost 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.

Adamu Abdul-Rahman, a farmer, said that, previously they used other fertilizers that did not guarantee high yield thereby discouraging most from cultivating the following year.

He appealed to other farmers to adopt the new technology to generate the needed yields to improve their livelihoods.

He commended Yara and USAID/ADVANCE for the support adding that without the assistance, farmers within the Ticheli community would not have known that there were such quality fertilizers that could help increase yields.

Madam Tuohatu Abubakari, also a farmer and member of Tutinyam Women Association noted that, lack of funds compelled the Association to buy poor quality fertilizers which affected their production.

She stated that the intervention of Yara and USAID/ADVANCE has taught them the need to acquire quality fertilizer to apply on their farms as well as avoid broadcasting method that also affect productivity.

She thanked the organizations for their assistance to ensure farmers get the needed yields through the introduction of the new technology.

Mahama Abdul-Rahman, Cereals Crop Segment Manager, Yara Ghana said, the company seeks to improve the livelihoods and the profitability of the farmers with the introduction of YaraMila Actyva fertilizer.

The project, he said, also seeks to introduce the farmers to improved ways of farming to ensure the sustainability of agribusiness which is their only source of livelihoods he added.

According to the Cereals Crop Segment Manager, farmers are essential to Yara because Yara is focused on providing the right crop nutrition solution for them in order to sustain their business and create a win win situation

Access to fertilizer is one of the challenges of the farmers of which efforts are being made to ensure that agents are established at the farming communities to enable the farmers access them at affordable prices to meet the competitive market

Francis Essuman, Northern Regional Coordinator of USAID/ADVANCE said, the project is helping to identify nucleus farmers and give them the training as well as offer technical and mechanized services to out growers through them. He said the project links the farmers to agro input dealers as well as other value chain actors to acquire knowledge, counseling and as well as other services.