Journalists, agric experts attend workshop on fertilizer Act
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) is setting up an independent laboratory to verify the quality of different brands of fertilizers imported into the country.
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Currently, MOFA relies on a number of private and some quasi state laboratories including those of the University of Ghana, Legon, and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission to ensure that only certified and approved fertilizers are used by farmers.
Mr Ernest Osei-Assibey of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of MOFA announced this while addressing journalists and agricultural experts at a workshop in Kumasi last Friday.
The workshop was to share knowledge and sensitise the various actors in the value chain to the national Plant and Fertilizer Act of 2010 (Act 803) and related regulations and the fertilizer policy.
It was organised by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) in collaboration with PPRSD of MOFA.
Over 50 journalists and other stakeholders across the country were taken through the Act and the fertilizer policy and how their implementation could benefit the agricultural industry.
Lowest produce
The Ashanti Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwaku Minka Fordjour, said the region could produce its lowest produce this year because at the time the first batch of the subsidised fertilizer was distributed; the region was in its dry season hence it did not yield the desired results.
He said the availability of fake chemicals had reduced drastically in the region but that there was the need for more education while clamping down on those who infringed on the law.
