The exorbitant prices of fertilisers from two world leading producers, Russia and Ukraine has forced farmers in Ghana to look for alternatives that will keep their businesses afloat.
According to some agronomists farmers in Ghana have switched to growing crops that do not call for imported inorganic fertilizers after prices skyrocketed resulting from the war in Ukraine.
Reports say there a 60 percent reduction in fertilizer imports which led to skyrocketing prices due to the war in Ukraine and western-led sanctions on Russian companies.
Public Affairs Manager of Ghana COCOBOD, Fiifi Boafo, admonished farmers to use chicken manure as an alternative, saying it gives better advantage in terms of yield and nutrient. “In terms of quality it is even better for us to rely on the poultry manure than the inorganic fertilizer that we import because that is natural,” Mr. Boafo said.
“It has shown that it rather builds a soil structure better than the inorganic fertilizers we import. The only challenge, however, is that coming by it is a bit more difficult compared to accessing the inorganic from the market,” he added.
Meanwhile, a commercial vegetable farmer, Felix Kamassah, disclosed that the increased costs have pushed him and his peers into producing crops that require less inputs.
“We have to look at other alternatives to make sure that we are in business because (as) commercial farmers, when we want to rely on fertilizer importation, for now you can’t make any good profit out of it because it’s a big challenge,” Mr Kamassah stated.
In related development, the Manager for the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership in Ghana, Nana-Aisha Mohammed revealed that global prices for inputs have stabilized but it can only reflect in retail prices after six months.
“The dynamics of fertilizer crisis in Ghana have slightly changed. Globally, the prices are stabilizing. However, it will take about six months for retail prices to catch up,” said Mohammed.
“This is largely due to logistics and supply chain issues… we also as a country are facing some economic challenges, which means that our currency is not very stable and it’s performing very poorly against the trading currency which is the dollar,” he reiterated.
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