News Articles from the Daily Graphic Newspaper
Cocoa Farmers Assured of Good Prices
In delivering his first State of the Nation Address to the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic in Accra, President John Dramani Mahama has assured cocoa farmers that his administration will continue to pay at least 70% of the world market price of cocoa to them. This is part of measures to sustain the historic one million tonnes of cocoa produced. The President stated that in addition to other initiatives to be implemented, 20 million hybrid cocoa seedlings will be distributed free of charge over the next several years. The application of the hi-tech system to increase yield per hectare was also part of the initiatives to be carried out.
President Mahama told the House of the progressing work on the $1.2 billion ammonia-urea based fertilizer processing plant at Nyankrom in Shama District in Western Region. The plant, which is a Ghana-India initiative, will have the capacity to process one million tonnes of fertilizer annually when completed. It has the potential to boost trade, create jobs and increase agricultural production locally.
Speaking on the newly created Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the President stated that a more rational focus on fisheries and aquaculture development had been initiated and the proposal to establish a new university dedicated to the sector had been authorized.
Daily Graphic, Saturday, February 23, 2013. No. 19083, page 38.
If you need additional information of this article, please contact Adwoa Kwarteng with the citation of the requested paper.
Reports
Harnessing the Potentials of Informal Sector Women for Development in Ghana
Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability vol. 8(2) 2012
The informal sector is reported to be growing steadily and rapidly with expected enormous economic benefits, especially in developing countries (Akingunola & Onayemi, 2010; ESCAP, 2006), such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Research indicates that even in the midst of economic crises, employment in the informal economy tends to rise but does not translate into improved standards of living. Hence, productivity in the sector has not been satisfactory due to several factors such as inadequate support (Amu, 2004) driving most informal entrepreneurs and their families into impoverishment (Horn, 2010, citing Lee 1998; and Tokman 1992). Several studies have been ongoing, focused on different areas of the economy, in attempts to redirect efforts for development. One of such areas of study has been on gender and informal sector development, looking specifically at enhancing and sustaining women’s contributions toward economic development. It has been studied and concluded that “there is a sort of inevitability about women’s increasing engagement in labor markets” (ILO, 2010). The International Labor Organization again has indicated that female participation in the labor force increased from 50.2% to 51.7% between the years 1980 and 2008. This study affirms that “the economic development of a country can be accelerated by enhancing the status, position, and living conditions of women in a country” (Tripathy, 2003). Women dominance is evident in the major economic sectors (agriculture, services, and industry) in Ghana. The study discovered that women’s contributions in most cases have been relegated to the background, impeding expected growth rates. [more]
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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
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