Framing in the country has received a boost as
Yara Ghana took delivery of 18,000 metric tonnes of high-quality Yara Mila
Actyva fertiliser at the Port of Tema.
This is expected to
benefit 100,000 productive smallholder farmers and help enhance the country’s
food security.
The
Norwegian multinational agricultural company, which has been established in
Ghana since 2007, is committing 20 milliondollars to supply these fertilisers
to local farmers.
The war in
Ukraine has compromised global access to affordable fertilisers, hindering
farmers’ ability to feed their communities, threatening food security around
the world.
This
impacts smallholder farmers directly, who need to apply crop nutrients in the
form of mineral and organic fertilisers to their fields.
If
farmers cannot access reliable and affordable supplies of fertilisers, this
will result in reduced yields and higher risks to local food production.
Ultimately, this could impact food supplies, leading to larger numbers of
people slipping into food insecurity.
Yara is
working alongside smallholder farmers and trusted partners to secure access to
high-quality fertilisers that will help strengthen Ghana’s national food
security and deliver lasting, positive impact for farmers.
The
programme, “Grow Ghana,” will provide Ghanaian farmers with free bags of Yara
Mila Actyva as part of a package, effectively reducing the smallholder farmer’s
average fertiliser cost by one-third. The goal is to help smallholder
farmers have access to enough affordable fertiliser to sustain food production,
and to feed over one million people across the country.
Luis
Alfredo Pérez, Yara’s Senior Vice President for Africa, in an interview said,
“Yara believes that market-based solutions are the most effective response to strengthen
Ghana’s national food security, and will have a better chance of delivering
sustained impact for farmers. The global geopolitical situation and
macroeconomic indicators suggest that the current global food supply challenges
may persist for some time.”
“In this
context, Yara is committed to multi-year responses. We will adopt a
medium to long-term approach to strengthening the enabling environment in our
key markets. We hope to continue this project for at least three
consecutive farming seasons,” he said.
Danquah
Addo-Yobo, Yara’s Regional Director for West Africa, said “The Grow Ghana
initiative brings a market-systems development approach to help productive
smallholder farmers build resilience and sustainability. In the process,
it will help them contribute to national food production. This initiative
has the potential not only to help avert food insecurity across Ghana but also
to catalyse a larger, continent-wide commitment to increase food system
resilience, grow food security, and prevent hunger for 60 million people in
Africa.”
Source:
Ghanaian Times