Some farmers in the Upper East Region have called on government to make the falcon brand of fertilizers available in the market at subsidized prices for them to buy and boost their crop yield in this year’s farming season.
According to the farmers, who described the falcon fertilizers as best and results-oriented, said the products were scarce in the Region, owing to high patronage of the brand by farmers, especially dry season farmers.
The farmers made this known when WORDNEWS and Falcon field daries team interacted with them on the effects of fertilizer shortage on their farming activities, they lamented over the shortages, and appealed to government to ensure that the falcon fertilizers were readily available in the market at subsidized prices.
Mr Atule Nyaaba, an award-winning farmer based from Sumbrungu-Zorbgo, a suburb of the Bolgatanga Municipality, said the falcon NPK 15:15:15+10s fertilizer saved his pepper and onion farms from collapse after a colleague farmer introduced the product to him.
He said his crops had improved within the shortest time, and started fruiting successfully, adding that the onions were bigger as compared to his previous yields.
He, therefore, appealed to the Export Trading Group (ETG) Ghana, importers of the falcon fertilizers to make their products available and affordable to for government to buy and supply to farmers in all 15 Municipalities and Districts of the Region for greater yields.
Mr Jonas Ayanore, a Technical Sales Agronomist at ETG, told WORDNEWS that the company is committed to providing quality agri inputs that gives value for the farmers money and ultimately creating a sustainable impact in the lives of farmers and spreading 360 degree happiness.
Mr. Ayanore indicated that the Export Trading Group has a strong believe that if farmers grow they also grow as a company and advise farmers not to buy any thing fertilizer but patronize Falcon fertilizers and it their household brand in increasing productivity and income.
Rev John Akaribo, the Regional Focal Person for the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), said even though he had not used the falcon brand of fertilisers, the little information he gathered from farmers in the Region indicated that the fertilizers had nutrients needed for crops to grow.
“I have not applied some yet, but the Chief Farmers who have applied it, recommend that its potency is very high, and is good as far as nitrogen and potassium are concerned,” he said.
He, however expressed worry about government’s subsidy on fertiliser, and described the reduction of subsidy downwards from 35 per cent to 18 per cent as a big blow to farmers in the country, especially in the Upper East Region.
Rev Akaribo said the country may experience high cost of foodstuffs and hunger if government does not take steps to address the fertilizer challenges in the country, and appealed to government to increase its budgetary allocation to the Agricultural sector to boost production.
“I think if government should touch any budget at all, the Agricultural budget should be the last budget that government should touch. Its rather better to cut other areas to support Agriculture, to increase farming. When there is food in the country, there is peace,” he said.
Gaspard Ayuureneeya