Agricultural Issues
Govt. to Boost Shea Nut Industry — Shea Nut Development
Modern Ghana
The government is to establish a shea nut development board to set recommended prices for shea nut to give adequate returns to the women who pick the nuts in rural areas.
The government will also provide protective equipment and tricycles for the women to enable them to pick about 65 per cent of the country’s shea nuts which go rotten or are burnt by bush fires.
Vice-President, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, who announced this when he opened an international conference on shea nut, said the government would also open up the road network in areas where shea trees are grown.
University of Ghana Discovers Technology to Preserve Oranges
GhanaWeb
The University of Ghana Research Centre (UGRC) at Okumening in the Eastern Region has come out with findings for the preservation of fresh oranges for 60 days in the open.
Under the programme, fresh harvested oranges could be waxed, put in crates lined with polythene sheets and covered with perforated polythene sheets in the open.
Food Crisis/Security
53% of Ghanaians Struggling to Afford Food
GhanaWeb
A recent survey by Gallup indicates that a sizable number of people in various economic situations reported at times lacking money for food with the number in Ghana reported to be as high as 53%.
According to Gallup the current spike in global food prices is likely to affect substantial numbers of sub-Saharan Africans who were already struggling to afford food. A median of 57% of residents across 28 countries that Gallup surveyed in 2009 and 2010 said there were times in the past 12 months when they did not have enough money to buy the food that they or their families needed. This percentage for Ghana was 53%.
Gender Issues
New Project in Ghana Aims to End Female Servitude in Agriculture
Voice of America
Hundreds of young women still held as slaves to priests under traditional “Trokosi” religion. The priests -- mostly maize and black bean farmers -- are taught improved farming skills so they can do without female slaves. The women learn to support themselves with new skills such as sewing and hair dressing.
“The priests have vast plots of land for agriculture," says Patience Vormawor, project officer at IN Networg Ghana. "We help them to improve on their system of farming by networking with the Ministry of Agriculture, and International Needs raises funds to help them farm on a larger scale," she says.