The Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has suggested to cocoa farmers in Ghana to resort to the use of poultry manure for farming due to a looming fertilizer shortage across the world.
He attributed the impending fertilizer shortage to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Speaking in an interview with TV3 on Monday, March 28, he said “Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, these three countries produce the base elements for fertilizer, that is the Sulphate of Ammonia, that is very important for the production of fertilizer.
“You can bring in all the other compounds but these are the basis, they constitute the fundamental for the production of fertilizer. With the war in these three countries, Belarus wasn’t involved but Russia has just drifted them in, it means we cannot get the base elements to produce the fertilizers.
“Not just for Ghana but globally, it is going to be difficult and once that base element cannot be obtained it means there is going to be a shortage.”
He added “There is no way those materials will come. So we must all brace ourselves that come next year, it won’t be there, or even if it is going to be there may be from other countries but it will be very limited.
“We as a country will then have to look for alternatives. We have been telling the farmers that when you talk about fertilizer it is not just the inorganic fertilizer, even the organic fertilizer, poultry manure is the best, this is the time. Now we cannot get the fertilizer, let alone make it free.”
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