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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago saw a dramatic rise in the price of fertilizer for importers like Ghana, where farmers are struggling to cope. Ghana’s economic problems have made imports even more expensive, forcing farmers to switch to different crops and ultimately, reduce production. Kent Mensah reports from Akatsi, Ghana.
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUKR 1YR: GHANA FERTILIZER
HEADLINE: Ghana’s Farmers Switch to Crops Requiring Less Russian Fertilizer
TEASER: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Ghana’s economic problems make imports of chemical fertilizers too expensive
PUBLISHED: 2/23/23, 1:06p
BYLINE: Kent Mensah
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Akatsi, Ghana
VIDEOGRAPHER: Nneka Chile
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Schearf, DLJ
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:55
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: Radio intros scripted below for Production to version for radio.))
((INTRO)) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago saw a dramatic rise in the price of fertilizer for importers like Ghana, where farmers are struggling to cope. Ghana’s economic problems have made imports even more expensive, forcing farmers to switch to different crops and ultimately, reduce production. Kent Mensah reports from Akatsi, Ghana.
((NARRATOR))
Ghanaian farmers were hit hard by the jump in fertilizer prices after the invasion of Ukraine a year ago by Russia, one of the world’s — and Ghana’s — top suppliers.
Western-led sanctions pushed companies not to trade with Russia, which industry experts say forced a 60 percent decline in Ghana’s fertilizer imports and caused prices to skyrocket.
Farmers were forced to shift to crops that require fewer inputs, says Felix Kamassah, who also reduced his farmed land by nearly a third.
((Felix Kamassah, Vegetable Farmer, (English, 18 secs))
“We have to look at other alternatives to make sure that we are in business because [as] commercial farmers, when we want to rely on fertilizer importation, for now you can’t make any good profit out of it because it’s a big challenge.”
((NARRATOR))
Fertilizer prices have stabilized since last year’s spike but are still roughly double what they were a year before the invasion, too expensive for most Ghanaian farmers.
Ghana’s economic problems have made imports even more pricey as the currency, the cedi, dropped in value last year by more than half.
Nana-Aisha Mohammed is country manager for the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership, AFAP.
((Nana-Aisha Mohammed, AFAP Country Manager, (English, 25 secs))
“The dynamics of fertilizer crisis in Ghana have slightly changed. Globally, the prices are stabilizing. However, it will take about six months for retail prices to catch up. And this is largely due to logistics and supply chain issues… we also as a country are facing some economic challenges, which means that our currency is not very stable and it’s performing very poorly against the trading currency which is the dollar.”
((NARRATOR))
Mohammed says food exports from Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa exporter, have also been affected.
But Ghana Cocoa Board spokesman Fiifi Boafo says a quick switch to organic chicken manure has helped farmers bridge the gap.
((Fiifi Boafo, Ghana Cocoa Board Spokesman, (English, 25 secs))
“In terms of quality it is even better for us to rely on the poultry manure than the inorganic fertilizer that we import because that is natural… It has shown that it rather builds a soil structure better than the inorganic fertilizers we import. The only challenge, however, is that coming by it is a bit more difficult compared to accessing the inorganic from the market.”
((NARRATOR))
Ghana last April announced plans to build a $2 billion fertilizer plant for local production, but that will take about four years.
Meanwhile, farmers like Kamassah are left reaping what they can as economic casualties in a war sown by Russia.
((Kent Mensah, for VOA News, Akatsi, Ghana.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Akatsi, Ghana
Embargo DateFebruary 23, 2023 16:13 EST
Byline
((Kent Mensah, for VOA News, Akatsi, Ghana.))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
