Let’s shift from chemical to organic fertilizers

Mr Elikplim Asilevi, the General Manager, Safisana Ghana Limited, has asked the government to develop policies to shift direction from usage of chemical fertilizers to organic ones.He said the country had not done much to promote the use of organise fertilizer, irrespective of the fact that it revitalised the soil by improving the organic matter content and had better health benefits.'If we want to ensure food security, we need to consider revitalising the soil and giving it more nutrients to be able to produce the quantity and quality we are looking for as a country,' he said.Mr Asilevi said this in an engagement with the media on a tour of the Safisana plant site at Ashaiman with Plan International Ghana, its partner on the 'Stronger Together' project.Safisana Ghana Limited is a waste-to-resource company that turns waste into green electricity, fertilizer and Biomass.About 11,700 farmers use Safisana'a compost every year with 30 per cent being consumed within the Ashaiman enclave, he said, adding that testimonies had shown that there were great improvements in the yields of crops as compared to yields from chemical fertilizers.'It's a business case against an impact case, but we are balancing it to have a social impact and sustain the environment. And it is also worthy to note that organic crops are healthier than inorganic ones,' he said.Mr Daniel Agbenoto, Project Manager, Stronger Together Project, Plan International Ghana, said the use of inorganic fertilizer had some negative impacts on the environment with its production also being energy intensive and causing a lot of greenhouse gas emissions.Extensive use of inorganic fertiliser, he said, deteriorated soil quality and exhausted the land, adding that it adversely affected quality and quantities of yields.Mr Ibrahim Issah, a farmer from Michel Camp and a user of the Safisana organic fertiliser, said his team of farmers was initially hesitant when introduced to the organic fertiliser as they were more accustomed to the chemical ones.'We were encouraged to try it and since then, we realised we were getting far more yields than before and our produce could take a month before changing colour unlike the chemical fertilizer yields. So we started introducing it to other farmers and they always laud me.'Plan International Ghana helped Safisana to produce more fertilizers for more farmers. We had series of demonstrations and realised crops from the organic fertilizer are heavier than those from the chemical fertilizers,' he noted.Mr Issah said: 'We started using it for vegetables like lettuce and have loved the difference. Plan International Ghana has been helping to educate more than 250 farmers on the benefits of using organic fertilizer and how to use it. We've also been taught to use viable seeds and those planted with the Safisana did so well.'Madam Grace Akrofi, another farmer from Michel Camp, said: 'I got to know about the Safisana fertilizer five years ago and I love the difference in my yields.'I used it to grow onions and I harve sted a lot. I later harvested a lot of lettuce and then groundnut and even won a best farmer award.'Madam Akrofi said: 'One thing about the organic fertilizer is that at the second time of planting, you don't need to use it again on your land because the first use will still make the land fertile unlike the chemical fertilizer. So as for me, I will die with the Safisana organic fertilizer. 'Source: Ghana News Agency