Agricultural Issues
Ghana Pioneers New Initiative Meant to Boost Agricultural Policies, Productivity
Africa Science News Service
Ghana has launched Friday a Policy Nodes and Country Hub programme — the first of its kind in Africa — which aims to develop progressive national agricultural policies in order to raise productivity, increase household incomes and assure household and national food security.
The new initiative, by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), will develop a strong policy support system in Ghana to drive the country towards the attainment of a green revolution.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships at AGRA said the main objective of the new initiative was to address constraints in existing agricultural polices with a view to developing new progressive policies that drive change to scale.
Mofa Poised to Make Agriculture Lucrative - Badu Yeboah
Ghana News Agency
Mr. George Badu-Yeboah, Central Regional Director of Agriculture, stressed on Wednesday that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) would transform farming into a lucrative venture.
He said through the modernization of the sector they would attract the youth into the business and improve the livelihood of farmers.
Mr. Badu-Yeboah gave the assurance at the opening of a two-day stakeholders' forum on the theme: "Unifying all Stakeholders in Agriculture to Move Agriculture Forward in Central Region", at Cape Coast.
Government to Amend EDIF Act to Include Agriculture
Ghana News Agency
Trade and Industry Minister, Ms Hannah Tetteh said plans were underway to amend the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) Act to include agriculture.
"After 10 years of operating the fund, there is the need to review the Act to enable it better serve the needs of the country particularly agriculture," she said.
The Sector Minister was speaking at an Exporters Forum organized by EDIF to examine the challenges facing exporters and educate them on how they could benefit from the fund.
Ms Tetteh said the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) had received a nine million Euro grant to upgrade its facilities and infrastructure to enable it carry out test or certified export goods.
New Project for Environmental Sustainability of Cocoa Industry
Ghana News Agency
Cocoa producers in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are to increase productivity, and contribute to the conservation of biodiversity under a new cooperation agreement.
The agreement was signed recently between the International Conservation Organisation, the Rainforest Alliance, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and financed by the Global Environment Facility.
A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday by Rainforest Alliance said the objective of this initiative was to transform production practices in major cocoa production countries and business practices in cocoa and chocolate companies.
Political Support for Agricultural Development Is Low
Ghana Business News
The lukewarm attitude to agricultural development by successive governments is to blame for the near stagnant growth of the sector, Dr Emmanuel Bobobee, an Agricultural Engineer, has said.
“Most of our leaders in their election campaign promises come out with noble ideas as to how they intend to revolutionize the sector but do virtually little to push for the realization of their objectives when given the mandate.”
Gender Issues
The Role of Women in Agriculture in Ghana Acknowledged
Ghana Business News
The significant role of women in the agriculture sector in Ghana was acknowledged during the 3rd European Forum on Rural Development held in Palencia, Spain on March 29. In her presentation during the opening session as the chairperson, Soraja Rodriguez Ramos, Spanish Secretary of State for International Development, stated that “women producers in Ghana are the same as men producers and that the yield of sectors of production in cereals has most women”. She stressed the significance of women in ensuring the global vision of food security.
Local Government / Decentralization
Government Committed to Local Governance System
Ghana
Ghanaians have been assured of the Government’s commitment to take action on the local governance system by empowering communities to ensure effectiveness in the decentralization process.
Mr. Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, gave the assurance at the opening of a two-day workshop aimed at empowering media practitioners to scrutinize the disbursement and utilization of the District Assemblies Common Fund over the week end at Elmina in the Central Region.
According to him, the government priority is to undertake initiatives aimed at deepening the fiscal, administration, political, and planning dimension of the decentralization policy in order to achieve full decentralization by devolution.