Bono East farmers warned against use of inferior agro-chemicals

The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, has cautioned farmers in the Bono East Region against the use of inferior agro-chemicals in the market.

She advised them to be extra careful during their selection of farm inputs, particularly new agro-chemicals, to protect lives, the environment and boost production.

Ms Akosa was speaking at the climax of the Second Ghana Agro-chemical and Crop Protection Exhibitions and Awards (GACA) ceremony in Techiman, the Bono Regional capital.

Best agricultural practices

The participants, mainly farmers and inputs dealers, were schooled on the best agricultural practices as the planting season commences.

Organised on the theme; "Sustaining the Climate and the Environment, the Role of Agricultural Input Dealers", the training offered the farmers a platform to deliberate on new farming mechanisms.

They were taken through integrated systems of soil management and combine use of both organic and non-organic chemicals to facilitate farming.

Ms Akosa said the use of some agro-chemicals and other farm inputs could pose a serious risk to their health, the environment and negativity affects their crop yield.

She admonished the farmers to pay critical attention to inscriptions on agro-chemicals before applying them on their crops.

Ms Akosa explained that the exercise was aimed at appreciating the real intentions of input companies in Ghana and support farmers to increase their production, income and improve food nutrition.

"This is a great opportunity we are presenting. We want to urge the youth to venture into input dealerships. We also want to make the inputs more accessible to the farmers as well as building their capacity in new methods of farm input applications," she said.

Ms Akosa said the foundation would continue to support farmers to resolve their challenges in order to boost production and improve food nutrition.

She said access to the right and better inputs was key to ensuring food sustainability within the agriculture food value chain.

Collaboration

The Bono East Regional Minister, Francis Owusu Antwi, urged stakeholders to collaborate in promoting responsible use of inputs for more resilient and climate smart agricultural systems.

"Our collective responsibility is to ensure that the input distributed to farmers is not only effective but also safe for human health and environment," he said.

Mr Antwi encouraged the stakeholders to intensify their education on safe handling, application and disposal of agro-chemicals to prevent environmental degradation and health hazards.

He advised input dealers to import and promote the right products for farmers to ensure environmental friendly agricultural practices and protect human health and ecosystems.

Food basket

"As one of the food baskets of the country, events like this will foster relationships that drive responsible agricultural practices in the region," Mr Antwi said.

Some of the farmers told the Daily Graphic that the event would help them to collaborate with input dealers to access agro-chemicals with ease.

They expressed the hope that the event would drive positive change within the agricultural sector and increase their income. 

Writer's email: biiya.ali@graphic.com.gh