Farmers in the Bono East Region have expressed their dissatisfaction with the country's high cost and lack of inorganic fertilizer.
They feel that the high cost of fertilizer and agriculture inputs has contributed to the market's high food prices.
They claim that buying locally made organic fertilizer is significantly less expensive than buying imported chemicals, which they say are difficult to come by and, when they do, are often more expensive than expected.
Farmers expressed their dissatisfaction during a series of interviews held on the sidelines of a durbar honoring Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, his deputy in charge of crops, Hon. Yaw Frimpong Manso, and some ministry directors who were in the region to assess the situation.
the agriculture sector's performance
We don't have all of the food crops, and when we go to the market to buy any, the price often goes up more than double, just like our own produce, according to the farmers. It has become common knowledge that the high cost of foodstuffs is attributable to the high cost of farming inputs.
Mr Ibrahim Talabi, a local farmer, believes that while organic fertilizer may not produce immediate effects, it has a longer-term good effect than inorganic fertilizer.
"If you apply organic fertilizer this year, it will survive the test of time so that the nutrients will be useful in the next farming season," he stated.
He promised that we are even encouraging ourselves to buy locally manufactured fertilizer to save money.
Mr Yaw Frimpong Manso, the Deputy Agriculture Minister in charge of crops, indicated that there is a global lack of fertilizer owing to the present conflict in Ukraine and Russia, and recommended farmers to use organic fertilizers.
Mrs Cecilia Kagya, the Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, informed us that there will be no food scarcity anytime soon, based on their figures.
We are encouraging and training farmers to farm in both the rainy and lean seasons, and this is delivering positive results, with the lean season doing even better than the rainy season.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has registered more than 18 local organic fertilizer and input manufacturers and suppliers to create and service the agricultural community across the country.