A nine-member anti-fake fertilizer committee has been instituted to protect unsuspecting Ghanaian farmers against imitated products of Yara Ghana, a leading producer and distributor of mineral fertilizer. The company is worried at the rise of the fertilizer falsification on the market, involving a syndicate which imitates the Yara products and bag them in old sacks of the company for marketing. Members of the committee include representatives of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Crop Research Institute and the Cocoa Research Institute, as well as distributors and retailers of agro inputs. The committee will be devising plans and strategies to discourage faking, as well as sensitize farmers and retailers on original products. Retail and Sales Manager of Yara Ghana, Henry Otoo Mensah, says the company is partnering interest groups to institute measures to curtail faking of fertilizer on the Ghanaian market. He tells Luv Bizness Report the committee has already suggested the certification of retailers of Yara fertilizers. “The committee came up with the issue of certification that why don’t we certify all our retailer and distributors throughout Ghana, so that the farmer will know that at least if he goes to that shop which has that certificate, there he will be able to get the original fertilizer,” Mr. Otoo Mensah said. He added that a three-member police investigative team is also supporting the company to apprehend individuals and syndicates involved in sales and distribution of fake fertilizer products. Meanwhile, Yara Ghana has organized a training workshop for retailers of Enepa Agro-Chemical Limited in Kumasi on modalities for the implementation of the 2011 National Fertilizer Subsidy program. Mr. Otoo Mensah says the nationwide exercise is to ensure the smooth implementation of the program. Source: Luv Fm/Ghana