Change agricultural policies — Expert

The Branch Tactical Marketing Manager, Sub Sahara Africa for John Deere International, Mr Kevin Lesser, has stressed the need for a change in agricultural policies in Ghana and the rest of Africa.

He said Ghana had a huge potential in agriculture but the current agricultural policies made it difficult to do business in the sector.

“If agriculture policy changes for the better, it changes the fortune of a country,” he said.

Mr Lesser said this in an interview with the GRAPHIC BUSINESS at a demonstration workshop which was organised by John Deere and Yara Ghana Limited.

He said government had to reduce agricultural duties and taxes to make it viable for small holder farmers to start farming economically.

Demonstration workshop

John Deere International, in collaboration with Yara Ghana Limited (YGL), held a demonstration workshop in Accra to sensitise farmers to the importance of effective crop nutrition and appropriate mechanisation on farms.

The demonstration workshop was to show farmers the result of effective crop nutrition and technology in farming practices carried out with YaraMila Actyva Fertiliser and appropriate mechanisation tools from John Deere.

The demonstration also educated farmers on the appropriate use and application of fertilisers; using technology and mechanisation in crop production; the effective use of soil and leaf analysis to determine crop and soil deficiencies; and irrigation technologies

The Director General of John Deere, West Africa, Mr Cobus Du Toit, also noted that many farmers still resorted to the old ways of farming, a move that resulted in low productivity.

Mr Du Toit said the company sold both major and minor farming equipment because they wanted to provide mechanisation solution to all farmers in the country.

He also noted that as part of the John Deere’s support for farmers, they had partnered with Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans Limited to pay part of the interest put on loans for farmers to have the ability to pay back.

Head of Marketing at YGL, Mr Kwame Okyere, said the partnership with John Deere to organise the workshop was because it saw the good works of the organisation in improving the agricultural sector.

He said Yara would continue to engage authorities and key stakeholders in trials and demonstrations to drum home the importance of best farm practices.

Yara Ghana Limited is a fertiliser supplier organisation which has branches in 150 countries worldwide, including Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

John Deere International is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery, diesel engines, drive trains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment.