Farmers Urged To Adopt Organic Farming

The 2016 National Best Maize Farmer and CEO of Vinyor and Company Limited in the Brong Ahafo Region has entreated Ghanaians to go back to organic farming to enhance the production of quality food for local consumption and exportation to create a solid economy.

Organic farming products have been on the rise in Ghana as food safety is a priority with more and more consumers.

According to Mr. Kofi Vinyor, chemical farming is having a lot of negative implication on the health of the farmers and Ghanaians who are the consumers as well as giving the country a bad name as the country recently suffered the wrath of the European Union when some of its vegetable products were banned from importation into the European Union.

He noted that this year, he is grooming 400 farmers who will engage in organic farming and through this many will have the will to venture into organic farming.

The real target, he added, is over 10,000 farmers to be trained free of charge to create more organic farmers in the country until Ghana becomes an Organic Agriculture Nation.

Mr Vinyo added that Ghanaian farmers should trace their roots to how farming was done in the olden days and learn from it since it was the best practice 40 years ago.

The CEO further called on commercial farmers to also adopt same practice and employ labor force to control the weeds when necessary rather than always thinking of chemicals.

He was convinced that this will encourage developed countries like European countries and the USA among others to target Ghana for all the raw materials and quality food they want and this will have a positive impact on the life of Ghanaian farmers through exportation.

Mr. Vinyo therefore urged Ghanaian farmers to do commercial organic farming though its expensive but there is always ready market as many countries do not even want to set eyes on crops produced with chemicals.

Interest in organic and sustainable products is growing in Ghana. In 2015 the government launched its own “Ghana Green Label” certification, a national scheme that reassures consumers of the safety and environmental sustainability of fruits and vegetables.

By Austin Ofori Addo/ritefmonline.org/austinofori.addo@gmail.com