AFRICAN PLANT NUTRITION INSTITUTE HOLDS STAKEHOLDERS WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABILITY AGRICULTURE MATRIX FOR COCOA SYSTEMS IN GHANA

The African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) in collaboration with the CSIR-Sol Research Institute (SRI) has held a day workshop at SRI in Kumasi on the Sustainability Agriculture Matrix (SAM) for cocoa foods systems in Ghana.
The Sustainability Agriculture Matrix (SAM) is a framework developed by the Center for Environmental Science, University of Maryland USA, to measure Agriculture Sustainability and contributions to accountable and transparent monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The SAM framework has 18 measurable indicators based on 3 pillars namely; Economic, Environmental and Social, to forge positive change towards sustainability.
The workshop was attended by 45 stakeholders in the public and private sectors in research, Extension, and Policy members in Ghana. The main objective of the workshop was to integrate available information sources efficiently to couple site-specific cocoa performance and fertilizer
application.
The African Tree Crop systems program is an initiative implemented to clarify how good agricultural management and in particular crop nutrition, can support the ability of smallholders to create value and realize environmental benefits from tree crop systems.
Dr. Koku Adambounon Amouzou, the APNI coordinator and the focal person for the SAM workshop, tree crops are noteworthy in their contribution to the economic growth in Africa through key ecosystem services of food, feed, fuel woods, and fiber production, and through
their contribution to the livelihood security of Africa communities.

This according to the APNI coordinator, would satisfy the growth of the growing demand for tree crop commodities without compromising the environment, and requires solutions for sustainable nutrient management.
Dr Edward Yeboah, director at the CSIR-Soil Research Institute (SRI) commended the participants for the shared knowledge and their contributions as well as the collaborations in making the SAM workshop a success.