COCOBOD fights soil acidity in Ghana

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) have renewed their partnership with Beft Agro Consult Limited, distributor of fertilisers 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 the renewal of the partnership, COCOBOD requested a training seminar for their 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 at 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 that “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 that “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 face on.’

Studies has shown that soil acidity is one of the major constraint 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 to 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 fertilizers. Beft Agro Limited 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 Calciprill. Beft Agro Consult has over the years been in partnership with Demeter Ghana Limited, the sole importer of Omya Calciprill fertilizers in Ghana.