CEESD l First biochar conference in Ghana

Ghana's Ist biochar conference ends in Kumasi
February 3, 2011

Ghana is in no doubt poised to join the international community in harnessing the miraculous properties of biochar for soil amendment. Ironically the amazing properties of biochar, one of which is to increase yield of food crops has long been known by peasant farmers in Ghana such that farmers always relocate to charcoal burning sites to cultivate their crops apparently because the yield of their crops could double or even triple.

The first workshop to publicly acknowledge the country’s interest in joining the international community in researching into the unique properties of biochar, its use as a soil amendment, and its production techniques was held on the 3^rd of February, 2010 at the auditorium of the Soil Research Institute of Ghana. The workshop was attended by research scientists from the Soil Research Institute and allied organizations, as well as engineers from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, CEESD. In attendance also was a faculty member of the University of Edinburgh, who also doubles as a member of the UK Biochar Research Centre and a PhD student from the University of Edinburgh who will be working in Ghana in the Wenchi area where farmers have used biochar for centuries to improve their crop yield.

Participants called for increased funding to relevant engineering institutions such as CEESD and KNUST to develop low tech biochar production technologies that can easily be promoted in farming communities in Ghana. For CEESD, it was an opportunity to network with leading researchers in this field and more importantly look at ways of using biochar to reduce rural poverty and stem the tide of rural urban migration. Sustainable local production of biochar has the potential to considerably reduce inorganic fertilizer application, as well as contribute towards greenhouse gas emission reductions.