Yara Ghana to establish fertiliser plant

Yara Ghana Limited plans to set up a fertiliser plant in Ghana in the next five years to help produce and supply quality fertiliser at cheaper prices to support the country’s agricultural sector.

In the meantime, to curb the delays associated with clearing the finished product from the port, the company has initiated moves to construct a terminal at the Tema Port to facilitate the importation of fertiliser into the country.

The Marketing Officer of Yara Ghana Limited, Mr Kwame Okyere, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra ahead of the National Food and Agric Show (FAGRO) 2017, said the terminal would also serve as an import terminal for the importation of semi-finished products and other inputs when the plan became operational.

The food and agric show has been slated for Tamale from September 26 to 30, 2017.

Tema terminal

Mr Okyere explained that the terminal was expected to facilitate the clearing of imported fertiliser as part of efforts to improve the country’s agricultural sector.

“For us, this is just the beginning of the kind of investment we intend to make in the country. The issue of a fertiliser plant is also something we are considering.

“Presently the company imports from its affiliates across the world, but we sometimes have some challenges due to the depreciation of the local currency against the major international currencies,” he said.

Last year, Yara Ghana sold over 180,000 tonnes of fertiliser under the government’s fertiliser subsidy programme, as well as to individual farmers.

Mr Okyere observed that Yara Ghana intended to improve on last year’s figure as part of efforts to support the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme.

FAGRO 2017

Some of the activities lined up for this year’s FAGRO are a leadership summit for women in agriculture, an agricultural colleges dialogue, a seminar on how to structure strong farmers’ cooperatives, a business plan writing boot-camp for agribusiness players and a forum to discuss the government’s one-district, one-factory agenda.

The FAGRO Secretariat, in partnership with Yara Ghana, the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association, Dizengoff, John Deere, Africa Lead and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council, will roll out the activities during the five-day fair which is expected to welcome thousands to the Northern Regional capital.

Dizengoff Ghana

The General Manager of the Agricultural Division of Dizengoff Ghana, Mr Ahmad Hashemi, said his outfit was bringing on board total solutions to address the challenges affecting the agricultural sector in Ghana.

“What we intend to do in this year’s FAGRO event in Tamale is bring on board all the agricultural solutions to help address farmers’ challenges,” he said.

Agricultural financing

The Head of Agribusiness at Barclays Bank, Mr Andrew Ahiaku, said the bank took a bold step in 2014 to set up the agribusiness desk to help agricultural activities in the country.

“The bank also has a strategic team and a policy towards support for the agricultural sector in Ghana,” he said.