Managing Director of AMG Fertilizers, Ernest Akwasi Appiah is urging farmers to adopt the use of more effective and scientifically approved agronomic practices that can help increase their yields.
According to him, the use of certified fertilizers could guarantee the production of quality crops to meet the international market requirement.
Speaking to the Citi Business News after a tour of the company’s ultra-modern factory with the Managing Director of Ecobank, Dan Sackey, at Kpone in the Greater Accra region, Ernest Akwasi Appiah noted that, the nation’s fertilizer usage is growing.
According to him, this is a sign that there is a good market for their products locally while there is a great opportunity to export as well.
“The consumption of fertilizer in Ghana for the farmers is over 1.3 million metric tons. It is going up every day; there is also a good export market and we do not add that to the local consumption figures. Each and every day, my company finds satisfaction in also providing small scale and large-scale farmers with a crop nutrition product that guarantees them high yields, through the adaptation of cheaper but very cost-effective crop nutrition combinations,” Mr. Appiah said.
He also noted that AMG is positioning itself to expand its operations and compete globally by exporting more of its products and that some $15-16 million of the company’s capital has been invested in building another factory to cater for the needs.
“The company which is currently exporting 45-50 percent of its products to neighbouring countries wants to increase export supply to 70 percent, and the hope is to get some more funds to expand,” he said.
The Managing Director of the Ecobank Group, Dan Sackey, encouraged the company to focus on measures to expand Ghana beyond the shores of Ghana.
He said the bank is ready for a partnership which would also offer the company the opportunity to work with other Ecobank branches across Africa.
“I believe that the export market is huge and it is available for you to take advantage. If you can find a local dealer in the neighbouring countries, we are good to go. There are farmers who are ready to buy fertilizers in the francophone countries; the good thing is that because their soil is not as rich as ours, they are natural fertilizer users, they know. Without fertilizers, they find it difficult farming, so that market is big. If you have the capacity to go into the market it would be a good business.”
“We have to find ways to work together and see how you can get into that market on a more sustained basis,” he added.
Established in 2012, and with one of the strongest local presence, AMG prides itself as a leader in the field of specialty fertilizers, with its continuous innovative development of wide ranges of quality fertilizer products and related services.
The company currently plays a key role in the manufacturing and distribution of fertilizers for cocoa farmers across the country; its flagship product, Cocoa Nti fertilizer is a household name in cocoa-growing communities.
