Key words of the passage: organic; fertilizer; Ghana; food; security

As part of efforts to ensure food security in light of the international fertilizer crisis, Organic Fertilizer Guidelines for Ghana have been unveiled to help improve the soil fertility status in the country. The guideline will be an essential tool for fertilizer inspectors and analysts who will regulate the provision of high-quality organic products to farmers.

It is also envisaged that the guideline will be useful reference material for the organic fertilizer sector and all relevant stakeholders. The Acting Director of CSIR –Soil Research Institute, Dr. Edward Yeboah, who made this remark at the handing over of Organic Fertilizer Guidelines for Ghana and awareness creation ceremony held in Accra, noted that the decline in soil fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa is a major challenge to sustainable agriculture.

“This is mainly due to the poor inherent parent materials through which the soil is developed, such as granite and phyllite. These parent materials are low in primary minerals needed for crops,” he explained.

According to him, the need for sustainable intensification of agriculture and the increasingly high-cost inorganic fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Ghana, in particular, has informed the need to encourage farmers to adopt a hybrid soil management practice. He said proper soil management has the potential to improve farm productivity. In this regard, there is a need to provide effective guidelines to regulate the industry with respect to the quality of organic fertilizer.

The application rates of most organic fertilizers to specific crops are still a challenge.

Source: Horti daily