IFDC commits to make fertilizer affordable in Ghana

The International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), an independent non-profit organisation, is this year working out modalities with policy makers at national and international levels to make fertilizer affordable to farmers.

The organisation acknowledges the fact that it is increasingly becoming difficult for governments all over the world, including Ghana, to continue providing fertiliser subsidies on a sustainable basis for farmers to enable them to produce food to feed the increasing population due to price hikes in the product on the world market.

Another strategy the organisation has adopted is to ensure that there is efficiency at the supply chain level to ensure low production cost, which will subsequently translate into price reduction of fertiliser for farmers.

Export restrictions

According to the Regional Director, North and West Africa, IFDC, Dr Oumou Camara, prices for Urea, for instance, had kept rising from 2010 up to this year. In 2010, the government paid GH¢16 per 50-kilogramme bag of Urea and the farmer paid GH¢18. In 2021, the government paid GH¢52 per 50kg bag of Urea and the farmer paid GH¢100.

In 2022, farmers are likely to pay more per 50kg bag of Urea because prices have shot up to between GH¢300 and GH¢350 per 50kg bag of Urea because international prices are on the rise. Furthermore, during the first quarter (January to March) of 2019, urea price on the international market was averagely GH¢246 per tonne and was sold on the retail market in Ghana at an average of GH¢377. In the fourth quarter of 2021 (October to December), fertiliser was sold on the International market for GH¢805 per tonne, but in Ghana it sold at GH¢947 per tonne.

This translates into an increase of about 227 per cent from the first quarter of 2019 to the last quarter of 2021 for international prices and 151 per cent increase on the retail market. Many factors affected the increase in international prices, including soaring of gas prices, which increased production cost, leading to the shutting down of some fertiliser producing plants and fertiliser export restrictions by some producer countries.