By
Anthony Apubeo, GNA
Bolgatanga, Jan 15,
GNA – Farmers in Ghana have been urged to adopt organic farming practices to
increase and sustain agriculture production, ensure food security and protect
the environment from pollution.
“Organic farming is
an agricultural practice that improves soil biological activity and
biodiversity and leads to a balanced ecological production system. It involves
the use of organic matter, manure, compost and grass among others on the farm,
while ensuring management practices that preserve, replenish, and enhance
ecological stability.”
Dr. Bernard
My-Issah, the Bolgatanga Municipal Director of the Department of Agriculture
made the call on Tuesday, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in
Bolgatanga.
He said unlike the
olden days, where land was in abundance and farmers could practise land
rotation and shifting cultivation that allowed the land to regain its
nutrients, land had become scarce and best agriculture practices were needed to
preserve the fertility of the limited lands while increasing yields.
The Municipal
Director said many farmers applied chemicals on their farms in order to
increase yields, without considering the sustainability of the fertility of the
soil and the adverse effects of the chemicals on the environment.
It is time for the
country to make a paradigm shift from the current system of land management to
a more sustained and ecological system, learning from other countries that are
practising and benefiting from it, he said.
“In some states in
India, fertilizer and chemicals are not sold and in Australia, where I was
partially trained, they work on their land, the residue of the cashew, the
winery, and the canella after harvest and processing are sent back and spread
on the farms, with sophisticated machines, they are buried in trenches,
planters or cedars will follow and plant the seeds on these trenches on the
farms”, he said.
Dr My-Issah said
such a system sustained the health of soils, build the soil structure to hold
waster even with little precipitation, maintains ecosystems and ensures high
yields for food security among the people.
“It relies on
ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions,
rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture
combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the environment and
promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved
He said organic
farming was the panacea to changing the face of agriculture and solving the
sanitation issues confronting the country as the waste could be turned into
organic manure and applied on farms.
GNA