Sidalco Limited, an agro-business firm in Ghana has introduced a new granular fertilizer with the capacity to boost high yields in cocoa farms.
With the brand name ‘Eso Dosoo’ to wit ‘Plenty Yield’, the agro-product is said to have the ability to boost cocoa bean production from three bags to 20, which translates into about 67 per cent increase, when applied together with good agronomic practices.
To ensure its effective usage and avoid abusage, SIDALCO, the producers, held a farmers’ durbar at Brofoyedru, a farming community in the Adansi Asokwa District of Ashanti to give a practical demonstration of its application to the farmers.
The farmers were also sensitized on the possible interactions and risks when the fertilizer is being applied concurrently with other agrochemicals on the farms.
Mr Daniel Attivor, General Manager of Sidalco Limited, said the ‘Eso Dosoo’, had all the necessary nutrients to help boost the increased yield of cocoa in a sustainable way.
He said the fertilizer owes its high yield boosting capacity to its enhancement with trace elements of chemicals like Boron, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, in the addition to the usual composition of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK).
Mr Attivor said when the fertilizer is applied to the soil, it facilitates the release of the nutrients in the soil slowly for utilization by the plants adding that this guarantees the sustainability of the soil’s nutrient for posterity.
He urged the farmers to always seek guidance and directions on the fertilizer and other agro-products usages in order to attain needed results without abuse.
The General Manager said the introduction of the agro-product in the cocoa value chain this year, was strategic to contribute to the achievement of the one million tonnes of cocoa beans, targeted by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) this year.
“In view of this, the ‘Eso Dosoo’, is being distributed for sale to farmers solely through COCOBOD, while arrangements are underway to commercialize the product on the local market ensuring that fake ones are avoided”, the General Manager noted.
Mr Dennis Owusu Boateng, the Brofoyedru Cocoa District Officer of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD, advised the farmers to always apply the right dosage of agrochemicals and fertilizers as directed by their extension agents.
This, he said, would guarantee the quality and premium of the Ghanaian cocoa beans on the international market.
