With the support of Agricultural Manufacturing Group Limited (AMG Ltd), a one-day training on fertilizer application has been organized for 64 farmers drawn from Binduri District and Bawku Municipal in Upper East Region at Manga Station of CSIR-SARI.

The farmers were trained in good practices in fertilizer application under irrigation. The practical and hands-on training was carried out on AMG sponsored demonstration fields for Maize, Soya-bean, Okra and Garden eggs under drip irrigation.

A lead Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Francis Kusi and his team of Scientists and Technicians took the farmers through a practical demonstration of dibbling and covering after application of fertilizer and also supervised the farmers to dibble, apply and cover the fertilizer. He also introduced the farmers to split method of fertilizer application as a means to maximize the intake of the fertilizer that will be applied to the crops over the cropping season given their soil type and the rainfall distribution.

Dr Kusi drew the farmer’s attention to the fact that bulk of the rains in the Upper East Region are received in July and August and this happens to be the time when most farmers apply fertilizer to their crops. Therefore, if fertilizer is being drop by the crops, as is the practice of most farmers, bulk of it will be washed and carried away in the run-off water. He added that the nature of the soils in this part of the country is sandy and for that matter erosion and leaching are common in the area. “Hence the need to place your fertilizer for the plants to make good use of it over a period by securing it in a hole made with dibbles”.

In responding to a question from Dr. Kusi on why would a farmer for instance pay GHS168.00 for compound fertilizer per acre under Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program and go and throw them under his/her crops just for the rains to carry most of them away, the farmers said it is usually due to factors such as heavy workload, ignorance, high cost of labour and at times due to laziness. Dr. Kusi encouraged the farmers to consider the benefit of increased yields in adopting the best practices in fertilizer application by committing time and/or money to engage labour to dibble before applying fertilizer.

The Commercial Manager of AMG for Northern and Upper East Regions, Mr. Bismark Asante, took the opportunity to introduce the company’s fertilizer to the farmers. He told the farmers that in addition to trace elements, AMG compound fertilizer contains two sources of Nitrogen (N): Nitrate and Ammonia. He added that whiles the Nitrate component are readily released upon application, the Ammonia releases its Nitrogen slowly to the plants, hence the plants sustain their greenness, vigorous growth and development resulting in high yields. Mr. Asante added that given the rainfall distribution and the sandy nature of the soil in the area as presented by Dr. Kusi, he will recommend AMG Fertilizer to them.

After inspecting the demonstration fields of Maize and vegetables, the farmers were extremely impressed with the sustained greenness of the crops and the performances of the crops due to the application of AMG fertilizer. The farmers who have never used AMG fertilizer asked Mr. Asante for the locations of their distributors in the area.