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Mr. Samuel Asare Ankamah (with his back to the camera), Western South CHED regional manager, speaking at the seminar
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has introduced a new agrochemical that treats soil acidity and improves yields on cocoa farms.
The chemical, known as Omya Calciprill, is a high-quality soil conditioner from Germany that removes acidity from soils, increasing yields and improving crop quality.
A pilot test conducted by some farmers in the western and north western regions showed that Omya Calciprill reduced the acidity of soils to acceptable levels on cocoa farms and increased yields by 70 percent within two years of testing.
The field study was supported by the Ghana Cocoa Research Institute (CRIG).
Beft Agro Limited, the producer of Omya Calcipril, has worked closely with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and COCOBOD for many years to ensure excellence in crop and cocoa production.
This came to light at a two-day training seminar organized by COCOBOD’s Seed Production Division (SPD) for some cocoa farmers in Kejebril and Wassa Akropong. At the seminar that began last Wednesday, the importance of Calciprill and the effects that acidic soils have on cocoa production were explained to farmers.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the seminar, the Manager of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) for the South West Region of COCOBOD, Mr. Samuel Asare Ankamah, explained that the application of Omya Calciprill to the soil increased its quality and her fertility also improved.
Rehabilitation
He said that the South West Region of COCOBOD was the center of cocoa cultivation in the country, hence the need to ensure that the soil was provided with essential nutrients favorable for better cocoa production.
Ankamah said that after a year of applying Omya Calciprill, cocoa farmers witnessed an increase in cocoa yields.
Change
An agronomist from Omya West Africa, Mr. Daniel Attivor, said agriculture had changed significantly and as such urged farmers to embrace the change.
“Just because there is land available doesn’t mean we can plant anything on it,” he told the farmers.
He said there was a need for farmers to see agricultural extension agents as key stakeholders who could help them identify the types of soil and the uses they could be put to.
Mr. Attivor explained that the seminar was held to help farmers understand that acidic soils with low PH could hamper the effectiveness of applied fertilizers until they are neutralized in the soil.
He said it was important for farmers to know the nature of the soil they were working in before applying fertilizers to achieve the desired level of production.
Warranty
The Operations Manager of Demeter Ghana, a provider of agricultural inputs and specialized services in the country, Mr. Nick Parish, said that the company was happy to be associated with the project.
He added that Demeter Ghana would continue to support farmers in the effort to boost cocoa and food production in the country.
He said the seminar is the second for cocoa producers in the region after the renewal of the alliance between COCOBOD and Beft Agro Consult Limited, a fertilizer distributor in the country.
Parish said studies had shown that soil acidity was a major limitation for cocoa cultivation and also had a negative impact on key nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in the soil, leading to low yields of cocoa.
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