Agricultural News
Foundation Assists Women in Agriculture
Ghana
A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that aims at empowering farmers in rural agriculture has been launched in Accra. Known as the Periyer Africa Foundation (PAF), the organization, which has its headquarters in India, seeks to invest mainly in women engaged in subsistence farming and reduce poverty through strategic investment. The ultimate aim of the organization is to empower women and work towards eradicating all forms of gender discrimination against women to enable them to be self-reliant and with a right to inheritance. It will educate the beneficiaries on best farming practices in order to increase yield and improve productivity. Beneficiary groups will be assisted with high-yielding seeds and parcels of land to support their rural farming businesses and link them up with ready market in high demand countries. Speaking at an event to officially launch the NGO in Ghana, its Secretary, Saalai Manikam, said the initiative had lifted the lives of millions of India’s rural poor from the poverty bracket and was looking forward to a fruitful support to positively impact on the Ghanaian community. [more]
World Bank Cushions Ghana's Economy with $210m
Ghanaian Chronicle
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has signed three World Bank funded projects worth US$210 million to support the Government of Ghana’s efforts to sustain economic growth, and maintain its middle income status. These are Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (US$100 million), West African Agriculture Productivity Program (US$60 million) and Urban Water project (Additional Financing of US$50 million). The Commercial Agriculture Project seeks to facilitate access to land, strengthen Ghana’s investment promotion infrastructure for attracting agro-business investors, and promote public private partnerships and small-holder linkages in the Accra Plains, the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) Zone. The Government of Ghana is currently implementing a nation-wide Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP II – 2010 2015) focusing on six priority themes: Food Security and Emergency Preparedness; Increased Growth in Incomes; Increased Competitiveness and Enhanced Integration into Domestic and International Markets; Sustainable Management of Land and Environment; Science and Technology Applied in Food and Agriculture Development; Improved Institutional Coordination. [more]
Ghana Prioritized under African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership
Myjoyonline.com
Ghana is among three priority countries for the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), which is working to increase market competition and sustainability in the fertilizer value chain. The Partnership is an independent non-profit innovation created by African development organizations to build on the work of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), a framework for achieving ambitious agricultural development goals set by African nations. The fertilizer industries in Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania are presently receiving a $25 million support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to establish regional fertilizer and agribusiness development units. [more]
Pay Greater Attention to Commercial Viable Agriculture
AllAfrica.com
African Connection Ghana Limited (AC), a development consulting firm specialized in local economic development, has called on the Ghana government to pay greater attention to commercial viable agriculture. This, according to AC, would boost agro-based industries and also enhance food security in the West African country. The Managing Director of African Connection Ghana Limited, Dr. Ayesha Hakeem, made the called at a 'Focus on Agriculture' conference held in Accra. The conference and exhibition was under the theme: 'Market -Driven Agriculture for Accelerated Rural Economic Development'. She noted that her outfit has over the years believed in the need for a shift from subsistence agriculture to commercial one, to enable the agriculture sector reach its full potential as the engine of growth in Ghana. [more]
Government’s 2.8% Expenditure on Agriculture Woefully Inadequate
Ghana Business News
Madam Quironica Qualey Qlotey, Policy Advisor on Food Rights and Climate Change for Actionaid Ghana has recommended that 10 per cent of government’s expenditure should be allocated to the agriculture sector. She noted that government’s expenditure of 2.8 per cent on agriculture was woefully inadequate because about 60 per cent of the country’s working population was in the agriculture sector. Madam Qlotey made the recommendation when presenting a research paper at a day’s forum for Smallholder Farmers and Parliamentary Aspirants at Nsawkaw in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo Region. It was organized by Actionaid Ghana in collaboration with Green Earth Organization, both Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). [more]
Reports
Making Rural Services Work for the Poor: The Role of Uganda´s Service Reforms in Marketing and Agricultural Extension
Dissertation
The objective of this study is to contribute to the understanding and policy debate on the changing landscape of agricultural rural services reforms in Uganda. My study analyzes service reforms in cooperative marketing and agricultural extension as part of efforts to make rural services work for the poor in Uganda. Six papers are written to achieve this objective. Paper 1 presents empirical evidence to the paradox of why over the last two decades in some communities’ service provision has worked to get the poor out of poverty whereas in other communities services have not. On the basis of case studies I show that efforts to reduce poverty should focus on improving security, property rights, then analyze the capacity for self help and strengthen it with capacity building and improve public service provision. With cooperatives back on the development agenda, the study further examines the revival and reform of agricultural cooperatives in Uganda. Three research papers were written to address three questions. The first question is addressed in Paper 2: What are the bases for general claims that the cooperative model has a potential to reduce poverty? Paper 3 addresses the second question: Why did a few agricultural cooperatives survive the crises in the cooperative movement in Uganda while most other cooperatives had collapsed? Paper 4 examines the third question: How are the reformed cooperatives differently organized and how are they contributing to reducing poverty? My findings show that the revival of cooperatives has included the introduction of new institutions, capacity building and promoting autonomous financially viable cooperatives. Paper 5 and Paper 6 analyze the impact of decentralization on provision of agricultural extension services. Together with colleagues I examine the perception of agricultural extension agents on decentralization. It is evident that widespread political interference is negatively affecting the overall good image of the National Agricultural Advisory Services. In summary, finding from the study contribute to answering the questions what mechanisms of service provision have worked for the poor, why they have worked whereas others have not and what so far has been the role of political decision makers in the process of governance reform in particular areas of service provision. [more]
Thank you
The articles included in this news digest have been generated from online news sources and the daily graphic newspaper published within last week. For more information on any of these articles, please contact Adwoa Kwarteng at A.Kwarteng@cgiar.org
If you would like us to add your colleagues to our mailing list, please send their names and emails to us at IFPRI-Ghana@cgiar.org and we will be happy to do so. If you wish to no longer receive these updates, please reply to this email with “unsubscribe” in the subject line, and we will remove you from the mailing list.