Agricultural Issues
Tomato Factory Starts Production
Ghana News Agency
The Northern Star Tomato Factory (NSTF) has started buying tomatoes from local farmers in the Upper East Region.Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, to find out how MOTI was facilitating the tomato industry in the Upper East Region, Mr Joshua Azure, Regional officer of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said the days when tomato farmers committed suicide over lack of market for their produce was now a thing of the past.
Ghana Can Produce 250000 Metric Tons of Lint Cotton - Ahwoi
Ghana News Agency
Ghana has the potential to produce 250,000 metric tons of lint cotton in the medium term, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture has said.
He said such tonnage would require the involvement of about 500,000 farmers in cotton cultivation across the three northern regions.
Mr. Ahwoi said with the current world market prices averaging US$2,500 per metric tons, the three northern regions could have earned an income of US$625 million for Ghana during the 2010 crop season.
Farmers Want Appropriate Data on Weather to Enhance Food Production
Ghana News Agency
Farmers working under the Northern Ghana Food Security Resilience Project (NGFSRP) have appealed to authorities of the Meteorological Service to provide them with appropriate data on weather conditions to enable them to take control of their agricultural activities.
"An appropriate weather forecast in the local languages on radio stations on regular basis would help farmers to know areas to cultivate their crops and the type of crops to cultivate", the farmers explained.
ADB to Open Branch at Tumu to Support Cotton Farmers
Ghana Business News
The Agricultural Development Bank is to open a branch at Tumu in Upper West to support cotton farmers and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture programs, Alhaji Ibrahim Adam, Board Chairman of the Bank has announced.
He said erratic financing of the cotton industry, couple with lawlessness and indiscipline had been the bane of cotton farming in the country.
SOS Ghana Support Communities through Organic Farming
SOS Children
In the deprived region of Tamale in Ghana, SOS Children are currently running training courses in organic farming practices, so that young people can support their families through food self-sufficiency.
Tamale is located in the north of Ghana, around 800 kilometers from Accra. A predominantly rural region which has around two million inhabitants, it is one of the poorest in the country.
Armajaro to Produce 20000 Tons of Cotton in Ghana's North
BusinessWeek
Armajaro Holdings Ltd.’s unit in Ghana will invest at least $10 million to produce cotton amid plans to use the fiber crop to boost development in the West African nation’s arid north.
Armajaro Ghana Ltd., the fourth-biggest purchaser of cocoa beans from Ghanaian farmers, will cultivate half-hectare farms in the central part of the Northern region to produce 20,000 metric tons of cotton each year, said Nelson Kpodo-Tay, director of operations with the Kumasi-based company, by phone today.
Food Crisis/Security
Soil Fertility Degradation; Major Constraint to Food Security
Ghana News Agency
Accra, March 1, GNA - Soil fertility degradation triggered by nutrient removal through plant uptake; erosion and leaching, described as soil mining, coupled with low application of fertilizer is the most important constraint to food security in Sub-Sahara Africa.
"In this Region, it has been reported that soil mining may contribute from one-third to as much as 80 per cent of farm output in some locations," Professor Seth K.A. Danso of the Department of Soil Science; College of Agriculture and Consumer Science, University of Ghana, said on Monday.
WFP to Purchase 1200 Metric Tons of Rice From Northern Ghana
Ghana News Agency
The World Food Program (WFP) has placed an order for 1,200 metric tons of locally grown rice, worth $700,000 from farmers in Chansegu and other parts of the Northern Region.
A statement issued by the WFP after a community durbar at Pong-Tamale in the Savelugu-Nanton District, said although it was not the first that time that the program would be purchasing food crops from Ghana for its operations, the move was symbolic.
It said the WFP ordered the produce from local small-holder farmers to support the National School Feeding Program in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.