The deputy minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of horticulture Hon. Osei Nyarko, delivering the keynote address at opening ceremony of this year’s long-awaited HortiFresh Fruit and Vegetable fair with the theme; Promoting Quality Fruits and Vegetables for a Competitive Domestic and Export Market, on 2nd July, 2019 at the La palm Royal Hotel, said, Hortifresh Fruit and Vegetable fair is a perfect platform to create visibility of businesses.
The mayor of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Hon. Anthony K.K. Sam together with some assembly memebers paid a visit to the Sekondi Fishing Harbour to monitor activities after the end of the fishing closed season for the artisanal and indoor fleets.
Scientists urge farmers to use compost or animal manure to nourish the soil, and organic-based pesticides to control crop pests and diseases.
Excessive use of pesticides kills pollinators such as bees, impacting negatively on food security.
Farmers at the conference, however, showed organic farming is not only doable, but also cost-effective.
At the same time, she uses integrated pests management practices to control pests on her farm. This is by using herbal concoctions made from African marigold and tithonia.
Ferdinand Wafula, an organic farming extension officer at Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), says farmers can restore soil fertility using organic manure and compost.
This week, global scientists, researchers, policymakers and farmers convened in Nairobi for the agroecology and organic farming conference.
Over the years, a section of researchers and health enthusiasts advocating for organically produced crops have protested against the excessive use of chemical based pesticides and fertilisers on the grounds that they pose a danger to people and environmental health.
The scientists instead urge farmers to use compost or animal manure to nourish the soil, and organic-based pesticides to control crop pests and diseases.
However, a majority of farmers argue that producing crops without fertilisers and pesticides in the era of climate change and high influx of pests and diseases is almost unachievable.
However, the world is going organic. The European Union, for instance, has put a premium on organic farming, and stringent rules on pesticides use to check on chemical residues levels on food crops.
Farmers at the conference, however, showed organic farming is not only doable, but also cost-effective. Margaret Karanja, an organic farmer from Limuru, said that she grows vegetables and herbs both in the greenhouse and outdoor by exclusively using animal manure and liquid fertiliser from earthworms.
“I have three greenhouses. I grow my crops without using any inorganic inputs,” explained Karanja, a retired teacher.
The crops include tomatoes, sukuma wiki (collard greens) and spinach.
At the same time, she uses integrated pests management practices to control pests on her farm. This is by using herbal concoctions made from African marigold and tithonia.
RESTORE SOIL FERTILITY
“We control greenhouse pesticide such as whiteflies using yellow and blue stickers to trap them, the flies are always attracted to yellow colour,” she explained.
The farmer delivers her produce at City Park Market in Nairobi twice a week.
Veronica Kinuthia, who farms in Kinangop in Nyandarua County, is another organic grower.
She grows legumes, chives, Chinese cabbages and a number of herbs which she sells locally.
“I was trained on organic farming by Biovision. I then decided to grow the vegetables especially herbs because not many people grow them in our area,” she explained.
Her clients include the Chinese road contractors who prefer the cabbages. A kilo of the cabbage goes for Sh50.
“The biggest challenge in our area is frost which is common between January and March,” she noted.
Water is also a challenge, therefore, she recycles her kitchen water.
“I add ash in the water at night and in the morning I use the water to irrigate the crops and control frost,” she explained.
Ferdinand Wafula, an organic farming extension officer at Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), says farmers can restore soil fertility using organic manure and compost.
“Using chemical foliar sprays weakens the leaves by killing the microbe. This is why it’s important to use organic liquid fertiliser,” he said.
Dr David Amudavi, the Biovision executive, urged farmers to scale up organic farming to meet the high demand in the market.
He said excessive use of pesticides kills pollinators such as bees, impacting negatively on food security.
For years, the financial stability of Canadian farmers was the envy of their American counterparts, but rising costs, drought and a dispute with China have weakened their bottom lines.
The 2019 edition of Joint Sector Review of the agriculture sector has being held in Kumasi with the theme; improving planning, coordination and results management for food and jobs.
Farm Masters Africa Ltd signed a MoU with Mottech Water Management PTY Limited during the GHrow-IL Agritech summit on the 4th of June 2019, in Accra. The MoU was signed by Mr. Anthony S. K. Morrison, the CEO of Farm Masters Africa Ltd who doubles as the CEO of the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG) and Mr. Bradley Chetty, the head of Marketing in Africa for Mottech Water Management PTY.
Ghana will host the maiden International Coconut Festival in Accra to provide a platform for diverse and high coconut industry players from across the globe to discuss the development and promotion of coconut.
The government of Ghana in its quest to revamp both local and international market for vegetables has expedite to construct three Greenhouse Villages for the Ghanaian vegetable sector- asserted by Hon. Dr Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Food and Agriculture during the Ghana-Israeli Agribusiness Summit in Accra.
HortiFresh in a roundtable discussion told Exhibitors of the maiden Fruit and Vegetable Fair to attractively exhibit their products during the fair which commence on July 2-5, 2019. The meeting which took place at the Tomreik Hotel in Accra hosted about 52 Exhibitors from different fruit and vegetable value chain.
ZAMBIA- Zambia Farmer of Choma’s Macha in Southern Province collapsed on 9th June, 2019 after the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock slaughtered and disposed off 71 animals worth K138,000.
