TMA, Jekora to build compost plant
The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), in partnership with Jekora Ventures Limited is set to commission a US$500,000 fertilizer compost plant at Borteyman in the Greater Accra Region next month.
Advertisement
Under a public-private initiative between the TMA and Jekora Ventures Limited, the JVL Fortifer Compost Plant, has been designed to process compost fertiliser from faecal sludge called fortifer, which recovers nutrients and organic matter to condition soils and increase yields of agricultural produce.
The Manager of the plant, Mrs Martha Annan, told the Graphic Business in an interview at the company’s premises in Borteyman near Tema, over the weekend that, the facility was in full shape to begin full production of processing compost fertilizer to meet the demands of the market.
“Presently the plant is ready with a capacity to produce about 500 tonnes of fortifer fertilizer per year to improve the yield of agricultural produce in the country,” she added.
She observed that the plant was developed with the aim of processing faecal sludge into beneficial products which could be used in crop production.
“Fortifer is mature compost produced from dewatered faecal sludge and sawdust or market waste. With these combinations the products is able to attain a nitrogen level of 20 per cent. An enriched version has been developed increasing the nitrogen to three per cent,” she said.
She added that the composing process was well monitored and controlled to ensure that the production of quality and safe compost was produced.
The manager indicated that in some urban areas of the country, a high proportion of human waste was untreated or only partially treated, and therefore, contaminated coastal areas, waterbodies and farmlands.
“At the same time, millions of Ghanaian farmers are struggling with soils that are poor in nutrients and organic matter. In cities such as Tamale in the Northern Region, not more than half of the sludge from household and public septic tanks collected is sent to treatment plants. The rest which is recycled directly by farmers with little or no prior treatment and therefore, posing potential health risks as fertilizer for crops,” she said.
Market for fertilizer
For her part, the Innovative Manager of Jekora Ventures Limited, Mrs Akua Akyaa Nkrumah, noted that the fortifer production was an innovative way to link waste management and agricultural production.
“Strong public-private partnerships define the cooperation between local authorities and private companies to manage the sourcing of waste sludge, organic waste as well as the production and marketing of fortifer,” she said.
She explained that the market for fertilizer in Ghana was characterised by a small number of major importers, more wholesalers, and a vast number of fertilizer retailers.
These major inorganic fertilizer importers supply more than 80 per cent of the country’s total fertilizer demand. Fertilizer retailers’ market concentration ratio ranges between 40 per cent and 54 per cent indicating that the top four retailers account for more than 50 per cent of the fertilizer retail market in different regions.
The innovative manager said the fortifer was introduced to augment the deficit in the supply of fertilizer to farmers in the country.
One of the several challenges faced by farmers in the use of fertilizer is the distance from the farm gate to the nearest fertilizer dealer. In Accra, this is estimated at an average of 37 kilometers, resulting in high price of fertilizers due to transaction and transportation costs.
Prices of fertilizers in Accra are the lowest in the country compared to other regions.
Prices in Ashanti and the Northern Regions are 33 per cent and 49 per cent higher respectively relative to Greater Accra.
