Kwadwo Inkoom

M.G. Farms ltd

Hi, my name is Kwadwo Inkoom and I am the founder of M.G. Farms Ltd from Ghana. Thank you for buying our tasty organic papayas.

We started our company in 1998. Back then we were growing cabbage and selling it on the local markets. As prices for cabbage were too low, it was not cost effective. That is why we started growing Papaya Solo in 1999 on 2 acres in the central region of Ghana. Quite soon, M.G. Farms was able to start its own export. However, the climate in the central region was not ideal for growing papayas so we decided to move to the eastern region of Ghana. This turned out to be a very good decision as the temperatures and the rain pattern are more suitable for growing papayas. Today, M.G. Farms owns 100 acres of land which is used for growing papayas. In 2015 we started using 26,5 acres for organic agriculture as we noticed that conventional farming is not that good for the habitat, the soil and also the animals living here due to the use of fertilizers and herbicides. We asked ourselves a few times what we could do about it and then decided to start organic papaya farming. Now we are excited to have our first organic papaya yield in September 2016.

What products do you grow and what’s special about your products?
We mainly grow Papaya Solo and also some cassava, maize and plantains for the local market. A good papaya has many minerals and is very healthy for your skin and body. It is very good to protect your stomach and it also improves digestion. In case of stomach or digestion problems we recommend to eat the seeds of the papaya. If you do not like to eat them, you could also make a papaya smoothie and simply blend in the seeds. We also do that a lot as the seeds are killing 5 different types of worms.

What is important when growing Papaya Solo?
To get a healthy and tasteful Papaya Solo the fruit has to get all the nutrition from the soil. So it is important to have good soil which is not poisoned by fertilizers or washed out by the rain. However, most important is the weed control. That was one of our biggest hurdles which we had to overcome when switching from conventional to organic agriculture. To handle all the weed we need 75% more manpower than for conventional papaya growing. Of course we are doing lots of research and investigations to improve this.

What are your plans for the future?
At the moment we get all the water we need for the plants from the rain. However, we are now building a dam in order to get irrigation and to be less dependent on rainfall. The irrigation can then help us to grow cover crops to prevent the weeds from growing. By doing that the 75% more labor that it takes us to get control over the weed can then be used to generate some additional income by growing and selling these cover crops.

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soil

Soil is very important for growing papayas as all the nutrients that are needed to make it such a tasty and healthy fruit come directly from the soil. This is our first year of organic and we started making our own compost to make sure the soil gets enough nutrients. Also, we will start implementing compost tea. It is water soaked with compost and all the nutrients that are in the compost are solved in the water afterwards. This compost tea is then used for irrigation. On top of that we can prevent soil erosion by also growing other plants on our farm.

biodiversity

After switching to organic we finally see birds, butterflies and snails again on our farm. As the plants and soil are now free of pesticides and herbicides they can live here without being harmed. It is really nice to see all that life coming back to our farm just by caring about the environment and leaving out poisonous treatments for a slightly better yield.

Besides papaya plants we also grow cassava, maize and plantains to sell them on the local markets. This biodiversity leads to richer soils and better tasting papayas as they take all their nutrients from the soil. When we finished building our dam we will also be able to grow cover crops which can generate some income, too. Switching to organic and not using poisonous fertilizers and pesticides anymore made the soil healthier and richer again and we can see mushrooms growing on our farms again.

society

Freedom As we need more manpower for weeding we also created new jobs and can now employ more people. We charge 3 to 4 times as much for our papayas compared to conventional growers. The money we earn due to higher prices stays in the local area and can improve not only the environment but our communities.

According to the World Health Organization more than 250,000 people die from pesticide poisoning each year! In organic agriculture it is not allowed to use any pesticides. We can therefore offer our employees a safe working environment without any health hazards. We hope to be able to offer this opportunity to more people in the future and not only improve the environment but also the health and life of our people.

Our 36 farm workers work in a rotation system. Out of the 36 employees there are always 8 people staying on the farm. They are employed permanently which gives them financial security. Also, installing solar power in the near future will improve working conditions by providing power to the workers during their stay on the farm.

climate

Unfortunately there is no community-power at the farm. We do not use it often but sometimes we run a diesel generator if we need power. Our intention is to go for solar power in the near future. We have a lot of sun and this would enable us to provide energy to the people who are staying at the farm and increase their living conditions.

Fertilizer is one of the largest CO2 and NO2 emitters which causes serious damage to the environment. It is not allowed for organic farming and we can contribute to slowing down climate change a little bit. One of the things I like most about my work is being on the farm just after the rain. I love the fresh smell, the fresh air, fresh oxygen and the explosion of new life

water

Rain is the only source of water at the moment. It is sufficient for growing papayas but not enough to grow any cover crops which prevent the weed from growing. The weed is our main problem after switching to organic agriculture. We want to combat that problem by building a dam which enables us to collect water and irrigate cover crops. By doing this we can use the 75% more manpower that we need for weeding to generate some additional income.

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