Agricultural issues
Ghana Contributes 3.8% to Cereal Production in West Africa – FAO
Ghana Business News
Ghana contributes 3.8% to cereal production in West Africa as the world’s wheat production for 2011 is expected to grow, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said.
According to the FAO, the world’s wheat production for 2011 is forecasted to increase by a margin of 3.4% from 653.7 million tonnes to 676 million tonnes.
Lack of Policy Programs Affect Agriculture - AGRA
BusinessGhana
Mr Namanga A. Ngongi, President of Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), on Friday said lack of appropriate policy programs in Africa contributed to poor performance in agriculture.
He said there was the need for African leaders to draft a policy that would deal with how to support farmers to have access to equipment required in improving agriculture in Africa.
“There should be dialogue between farmers and administrators in the agriculture sector to discuss problems facing farmers and find lasting solutions to them,“ he added.
Mr Ngongi was addressing the media on the activities of AGRA in Ghana in Accra.
He said agriculture was the backbone of Ghana’s economy while smallholder farmers represented about 80 per cent of the total agriculture production.
Ghana Loses 625 Million Dollars Due to Poor Cotton Production
GhanaWeb
Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), at the weekend said Ghana lost about 625 million dollars last year because the country's cotton industry went dormant.
"The cotton sector is a major source of employment and income generation. It is estimated that Ghana has the potential to produce 250,000 tonnes of lint cotton in the medium term", he said. Mr Ahwoi was speaking at Tempane in the Garu Tempane District, where 93the White Gold" Campaign was launched by President John Atta Mills as part of the North Eastern Zone Projects and commitment by government to 93creating a cash crop economy for the North similar to what Cocoa has become for the southern sector of the country."
Stakeholders dialogue on Climate Change Adaptation
Ghana News Agency
Ghana needs to be innovative to generate new and improved products and processes to meet the challenges of Climate Change, Mr. George Scott, Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, said Tuesday.
He said innovation was a dynamic process that came with specific behaviors, performances and with obvious implications for outcomes.
GTLC Schools Small-Holder Farmers on Agriculture Sector Investment Plan
Ghana News Agency
Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition, a nationwide advocacy organization, striving for agriculture and trade justice, has held a two-day capacity building workshop for small-holder farmers in Ho and Koforidua.
It was to shape their understanding on some aspects of government's agriculture policy framework for the period 2011-2015 and how they could tap into the opportunities it offered.
The workshop for members in the Southern Zone and Middle Belt aimed to provide the participants a holistic orientation to the Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP) and how the small holder farmers could tap into it to create wealth, enhance incomes and reduce poverty.
Food Crisis/Security
Food Security Threatened in Ghana
GhanaWeb
Land grabs for biofuel and governments¹ neglect to blame. In 2010 FSG reported on a report, compiled by international environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth (FoE), that says that the amount of land being taken in Africa to feed Europe¹s increasing demand for biofuels is ³underestimated and out of control.²
During the 2007-08 and now amidst the 2010-11 food crisis International Agencies are issuing warnings that government policies, including that on biofuels, need to be reviewed as a matter of urgency.