Fertiliser programme launched in Accra

By Konrad Kodjo DJAISI

The International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) launched a five-year USAID West Africa Fertiliser Programme in Accra last week.

The programme seeks to increase the regional availability and use of appropriate and affordable fertiliser to stimulate agricultural productivity in the sub-region. This will be done through increased regional supply and distribution of fertilisers by the private sector.

Performing the launch on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Kwesi Ahwoi, the Chief Director at the Ministry, Maurice Tanco Abisa-Siedu, expressed thanks to the US government for providing funds to the IFDC to implement a programme aimed at mitigating challenges farmers go through to access fertiliser for their businesses, thereby improving productivity to achieve food security for the nation.

He said government instituted the fertiliser subsidy programme in 2008 to help farmers increase the rate of fertiliser application to at least 50 kilogrammes per hectare in consonance with the Abuja Declaration on fertiliser use for the African Green Revolution.

He said that the constraints to fertiliser availability cannot be better-addressed by government alone, hence the call on the private sector to drive fertiliser use and promotional activities.

“The private fertiliser companies and government should continue working hand-in-hand on the promotion of increased fertiliser use. The banks are encouraged to provide affordable loans to all actors in the fertiliser supply chain, while institutions that are capable of providing farmers with guarantees should assist smallholder farmers,” he added.

He said government is in talks with investors to establish a fertiliser production plant in the country to take advantage of the by-products from the country’s crude oil production. In this light, the Plant and Fertiliser Act, 2010 (ACT 803), has been enacted to provide the necessary fertiliser regulatory system.

“Whether fertiliser is imported or produced locally, it is our responsibility to ensure that the fertiliser in the marketplace is of the highest quality and contains the right nutrients and the right bag weights to protect the farmer, the honest businessman and the environment.”

Although the programme has a regional focus and country-specific interventions that will target USAID’s Feed the Future focus countries -- which include Ghana, Liberia, Mali and Senegal.  Among the goals of the programme is establishment of a private-public sector West Africa Fertiliser Stakeholder Forum and the possible formation of a private sector-led West Africa Fertiliser Trade Association.

The programme also intends to establish and monitor fertiliser quality standards to curtail incidents of adulterated fertiliser -- and provide business management and technical training to new fertiliser importers for more accurate forecasting of market demands and better linkages to global fertiliser markets.

 The Chief of Party for the Programme, Kofi Debrah, said Africa uses only 3 percent of the world’s fertiliser even though its population is 12 percent of the world and the continent has a sizeable portion of the world’s land-mass.                                    

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