YARA Ghana To Train 200,000 Farmers Up-north

About 200,000 farmers drawn from the Northern, Upper East and West Regions have been earmarked for a training and sensitization drive on best agricultural practices including proper fertilizer application. YARA Ghana is taking the farmers through farm productivity practices such as the selection of the right seed, the right fertilizer for the right crop at the right application rate and the right time - the alright approach. In all, 60 farming communities have been earmarked for this exercise in the three Northern regions for the 2013 cropping season. So far nine communities in the Upper East region with an average farmer turnout of sixty farmers per community have benefited from this training. The Managing Director of YARA Ghana, Mr. Medhi Saint Andre explained that nearly 70% of the workforce in the north engages in agriculture with low productivity as a result of insufficient agricultural knowledge and inputs. �Experimental evidence further shows clearly that poor soil fertility coupled with low fertilizer application is to blame for this low productivity.� �That is why YARA Ghana, the largest fertilizer company in the country has found it expedient to embark on a sensitization campaign to train farmers and other stakeholders on the proper use and application of fertilizers.� He stressed that the government of Ghana responded appropriately to needs of Ghanaian farmers with the introduction of the fertilizer subsidy programme in 2008 to enable farmers increase their rate of fertilizer application as a means of increasing crop productivity. Mr. Medhi called for a closer collaboration among actors in the agriculture sector and to support the efforts of government in extending agricultural technological know-how to the farmers who need them so badly. �YARA Ghana has taken the lead in this expensive but noble course because we believe our corporate social responsibility must reflect in all facets of our business.� �At YARA, we do not only sell fertilizers, but we also deliver the knowledge that empowers the farmer to make the appropriate choice of fertilizer based on the complete knowledge of his crop to enable him realize maximum yields.� He added. YARA, the world's leading producer and marketer of mineral fertilizers since its establishment in Ghana in 2007, continue to strengthen the quality and depth of input supply and related services along agricultural value chains to increase the productivity of Ghanaian farmers.