DEALERS, FARMERS UNDERGO TRAINING IN CHEMICAL APPLICATION (NOV 17, PAGE 34)

FIVE hundred and ninety-four agro chemical dealers and seed producers have undergone training in agro-chemical application and service delivery in Kumasi.
The training workshop was organised by the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Department (PPRSD) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), the Chemical Control and Management Centre, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Each of the 594 agro chemical dealers and seed producers was given a certificate of participation.
The certification ceremony which was co-sponsored by the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agriculture Development (IFDC) and held at Ejisu at the weekend, also provided evidence of authenticity, affirming the competence and recognition of the agro-chemical dealers in the application of their products and efficient service delivery to farmers.
The expectation is that they will not serve farmers with agro-chemicals that pose undue risk to human health and the environment, and also adhere to laid-down regulations on the applications of their products to facilitate increased agricultural production and income generation for farmers.
In his address, the IFDC representative in Ghana, Dr Kofi Debrah, said the capacity building programme for the agro-chemical dealers had facilitated the formation of the Ghana Agro-Input Dealer Association (GAIDA) to differentiate them from those who had not acquired any form of training.
He said to enhance the supply of quality products, the Ghana Agribusiness Associations Business Information Centre (GAABIC) had also been formed as a consortium and a one-stop centre for GAIDA.
Dr Debrah said as part of their efforts to sustain the capacity building for agro-chemical distributors, the IFDC had also received funds from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
The financial support, he said, would also ensure that GAABIC is strengthened to become a unique and home-grown company that would continue to provide valuable services to the agricultural associations in a sustainable manner.
He said in less than a year that the Ghana Agro-Dealers Development (GADD) Project started, it had been influential in getting the Seed and Fertiliser Bill to the stage of being passed.
He said it had also mapped out the locations and sales points of products, thereby enhancing their distribution and accessibility to farmers.
He advised the agro-chemical dealers to use their newly acquired skills to provide quality service to farmers and also collaborate with them to “ smoke out fake agro-dealers from your midst”, stressing that,
“You need to set good examples through your activities as true professionals for others to follow”.
Speaking on the importance of the certification, the Pesticides Registrar of the EPA, Mr John Pwamang, said it provided evidence that the holder “has the necessary facilities and processes in place to deal in quality agro-products and services”.
“It also indicates that the operation of the dealer does not pose undue risks to human health and the environment”, he added and stressed that training should be undertaken on a regular basis and not to be considered as a one-off event.