Participants of the training in a group photograph
The Ashanti Regional Department of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has partnered Rejuvenate Gaia Global, licenced importers of Greenfert Organic fertilizer to scale-up government’s flagship ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ (PFJ) programme in the region.
The partnership which will see the use of Greenfert Organic fertilizer is expected to positively impact farmers in all 27 districts across the region to improve food production and to deepen the success of the PFJ.
Participation in the PFJ programme in the region has increased from 20,000 farmers in 2017 to 218,000 farmers as at August 2020 with about 50 per cent being vegetable farmers who use organic fertilizers.
The Ashanti Regional Director of Agriculture, Rev. John Manu, addressing a training programme in Kumasi, to apprise some district directors and their crop officers, agrochemical dealers and distributors on the benefit of using Greenfert organic granular fertilizer, stressed the need for farmers to embrace the use of organic fertilizers in farming.
While he admitted that the purpose of the training programme was to promote the use of the Greenfert organic fertilizer among farmers in the districts, Rev. Manu explained that the quest for healthy living and sustainable food production had become a top agenda for government in food production.
“More and more people are becoming aware of their diet and the need to go organic. Ghanaians are vising the big malls every day to patronize organic products. And that sends a strong message to our farmers to adopt same farming methods in order to compete here,” he said.
He added, “Organic fertilizers are made of plants or animal waste and added minerals, which makes them safer to use in crop farming and safe for the environment and pets. In this vein, I would encourage all district directors of agriculture in the region, to help with introduction of Greenfert organic granular fertilizers to farmers since we all know the benefits.”
Rev. Manu noted that Rejuvenate in the coming weeks, would sponsor the various districts to use Greenfert on demonstration farms in order to promote and deepen awareness of the benefits of the fertilizer.
Managing Director of Rejuvenate, Mr Randolph Obeng Frimpong, expressed appreciation to the Regional Department of Agriculture for the partnership and said over 10,000 metric tonnes of Greenfert was available for farmers in Ghana on annual basis.
He said the company, apart from the PFJ subsidized rate of GH¢46, Rejuvenate is further offering its own discounts up to GH¢35 on each Greenfert product till the end of year.
“With the backing of MoFA and other stakeholders through the PFJ, Rejuvenate is set to establish vital footprints nationwide to strike partnerships with farmers on the need to embrace organic farming which is the best practice,” Mr. Frimpong said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri