Sunyani — Maize and rice farmers in the Bono Region have been encouraged to adopt the use of manure to improve their yields, and enhance productivity following the rise in fertiliser price on the international market.
The Bono Regional Crops officer of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Douglas Lebna, who gave the advice said the rising prices of fertilisers was a global phenomenon and therefore, imperative for farmers to adopt innovative measures to sustain production for improved livelihood and food security.
He said, "Organic fertiliser like poultry droppings is accessible and cheaper as compared to synthetic fertilisers which prices continue to soar on the global and domestic open markets."
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times in Sunyani yesterday, Mr Lebna indicated that organic manual was not only rich in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, but it also improved soil quality through better water use and increased organic matter and micronutrients.
He expressed optimism that despite the high cost of fertilizers, production of maize and rice in the region would not decline, adding that the Regional Directorate of MoFA had sensitised farmers on good agronomic practices like cultivation of improved seed and weed and pests' control.
According to him, statistics from MoFA indicated that in the 2022 production season, the Bono Region produced 385,472 metric tonnes of maize, representing a 4.34 per cent increase over 2021 production of 369,443 metric tonnes.
The Regional Crops Officer attributed the marginal increase in maize production to introduction of farmers to improved seeds and rightful application of fertiliser, adding "production level could have been higher had it not been poor rainfall pattern due to the impact of climate change."
Mr Lebna said for the past three years the rainfall pattern had become irregular, saying "if it rains heavily in the major season, the pattern changes in the minor season during which farmers grow more maize in this part of the country."
Commenting on the outbreak of fall armyworm, he allayed public fears that farmers had received enough sensitisation on early detection and control
