COCOBOD fights soil acidity

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has renewed its partnership with Beft Agro Consult Limited, distributor of fertilisers in Ghana, to provide Cocoa Farmers with Omya Calciprill to tackle soil acidity.

To help promote the message of soil acidity and the importance of Calciprill, Beft Afro Ltd. will be aided by Demeter Ghana Ltd., a specialist agricultural company.

Upon renewal of the partnership, COCOBOD requested a training seminar for its Seed Production Division (SPD) about the importance of Calciprill and the effects of acidic soils on Cocoa.

The Deputy Executive Director of SPD, Faustine Asamany, in her remarks during the seminar on Monday at Bonsu Cocoa College, stated that: “We are delighted to be attending this seminar; we anticipate that the training will increase our understanding about the problems of soil acidity and the effects it has on cocoa yields”.

Mrs. Asamany added: “We are looking forward to working with Beft Agro Consult Limited and Demeter Ghana Ltd. to educate our team about soil acidity and the importance of Calciprill”.

The Deputy Director noted: “We have known about the problems of acidity in the soils of Ghana for a long time now, and we are proud to be tackling the problem head-on”.

Studies has shown that soil acidity is one of the major constraints on cocoa cultivation, and further limits the levels of key nutrients such as Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus. This leads to low cocoa yields, thereby affecting farmers.

Omya Calciprill is a high-quality soil conditioner from Germany that is used to rid soils of any acidity, and allows for yields to increase as well as driving up crop quality.

Mr. Mohammed Issifu, Chief Agronomist at Beft Agro Consult Limited, on his part stated that: “We are delighted to have been given this opportunity to host a seminar for the Seed Production Division. We look forward to promoting the importance of Calciprill”.

Frank Boateng, Co-founder of Beft Agro Limited, said Ghana has long had an issue with soil acidity – which has severely hampered cocoa farmers’ yields.

“We are very proud to have been invited by COCOBOD to host this seminar on Calciprill for the SPD. We know what a positive impact the product will have on their lives,” Mr. Boateng stressed.

Demeter Ghana Ltd.’s Chief Executive Rocco Falconer stated: “This is a great opportunity to educate cocoa professionals about the issues of soil acidity”.

Studies conducted by the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) over a two-year testing period and subsequent distribution have proven that Omya Calciprill can boost yields by 70%.

Beft Agro Limited is an importer and distributor of fertilisers, and has worked closely with Ministry of Food and Agriculture and COCOBOD for many years. Beft Agro Limited saw the benefit of Calciprill and got Cocobod to conduct trials on it. Beft Agro Consult has over the years been in partnership with Demeter Ghana Limited, the sole importer of Omya Calciprill fertilisers into Ghana.