Major Courage Quashigah (rtd.), Minister of Food and Agriculture on Monday said despite the significant contributions of agriculture to the economy, only about 20 per cent of its potential is currently realised in Ghana.

He said both production and marketing constraints have been identified as responsible for the slow growth rate in the sector.

Major Quashigah was speaking at the beginning of a six-day international training programme on agricultural input marketing organised by the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in Accra.

Thirty-five people from 13 African and Asian countries are attending the training which will focus on challenges of developing economies in the marketing of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, seeds and agro-chemicals in liberalised and competitive markets.

The programme will also introduce participants to the development of techniques and skills required for customer-oriented marketing and improve their skill in analysing agricultural inputs.

Major Quashigah said soil fertility decline in many areas has been identified as a major cause for the slow growth in food production in Ghana.

\"This is mainly attributed to the use of traditional methods of farming and inappropriate land management practices which lead to problems of land degradation, including soil erosion.\"

The situation, Major Quashigah said, is further worsened by the inability of farmers to purchase inorganic and organic fertilisers needed to replace lost soil nutrients.

He said the development of inputs markets, especially for seed, fertiliser and machinery, is an essential component of agricultural transformation. He said the direct involvement of past governments in fertiliser import and distribution was a bottleneck in the input delivery system, resulting in a rather poor performance of the agricultural sector.

Dr Francis Ofori, Director of Crop Services of MOFA, said in sub-Saharan Africa, about 35 per cent of gross domestic product, 70 per cent of employment and 40 per cent of export earnings are from agriculture.

He said access to knowledge, inputs, markets and the empowerment of farmers, with a special focus on gender issues, is the major element of accelerated agricultural and rural development.

Dr Charles Ofori, a soil scientist, said fertiliser input procurement should form part of any country\'s agricultural policy strategy. He called for an enhanced network and adequate logistics as well as enough financial resources for the efficient functioning of the private sector in the distribution and marketing of farm inputs.

Dr Hendrick Breman, IFDC\'s Director for the Africa Region, said overpopulation is a major contributor to loss of soil fertility.

He identified factors such as risk, low profitability, low crop yield and the high cost of fertilisers, as some of the reasons for low level use of fertilisers in developing countries. He called for an efficient use of fertiliser policy for an enhanced crop yield.

Since 1974 the IFDC has held about 570 workshops, study tours, and training programmes for 7,500 participants from 145 countries.