REVISIT DEPENDENCE ON CHEMICAL FERTILISERS — SAYS CAESAR KALE (PAGE 42, NOV 3, 2010)

THE Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, has stated that the time has come for the country to revisit the dependence on chemical fertilisers which are detrimental to natural bio-organic fertilisers.
He has, therefore, stressed the need to reinvent the wheel as the technology for large scale organic fertiliser, which is operational in India, could be adopted in the country.
According to him, that technology, apart from being environmentally friendly, would drastically reduce the cost involved in agriculture and also improve the standard of living of most Ghanaians.
Mr Kale was speaking at a farmers’ durbar organised by the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC) at Wa in the Upper West Region. The durbar was on the theme: “Smallholder farmer: Reserving the right to be more productive.”
The deputy regional minister called for adequate data base of farmers in the country to help stakeholders plan ahead of farming seasons, especially with reference to farming inputs and extension services.
He entreated farmers’ groups to register with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to actualise all plans to ensure the timely supply of inputs to those engaged in the block farming concept as well as other farmers.
“Let me also use this platform to appeal to our dear farmers to take advantage of the new pension scheme, especially the third tier, which targets the informal sector since this will go a long way to improve your quality of lives at retirement and serve as an incentive to boost production,” he added.
Mr Kale was convinced that that suggestion, together with other interventions, would help upscale productivity in the agricultural sector and make Ghana a better place.
He said the government put a lot of premium on agriculture and would continue to take bold initiatives needed to improve the sector.
That, Mr Kale said, had been manifested in the provision of breeding animals to farmers under the Livestock Development Project (LDP), the establishment of farmers service centres to aid in the mechanisation of agriculture and the establishment of a Sheanut processing factory in Buipe in the Northern Region.
Mr Kale said the establishment of mango plantations in the Upper West Region as well as other regions were interventions captured under the agricultural component of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, which would assist in ensuring sustainable progress in the sector.
The National Co-ordinator of the GTLC, Mr Ibrahim Akalbilla, called for the recognition of small-scale farmers in the country.
He urged the government to ensure that policy formulation was targeted towards small scale farmers since they were the backbone of agriculture in the country.
An official of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mr M.Y.B. Suglo, stated that the government, in collaboration with its French counterpart, had earmarked 1,000 acres of land for rice cultivation in the Upper West Region next year.