Agricultural Issues
Moving Towards Food Security: YARA Leads the Way
The pluralistic and diverse agriculture system in Ghana and the process of globalization has thrown up new challenges for farmers, government and the private sector. This calls for new thinking on the research, development and dissemination of new agricultural techniques. There is therefore an imminent need to move from primary agriculture to secondary agriculture and productivity to health and nutrition. In Ghana, YARA seem to be leading the way in meeting the growing and ever improving needs of farmers to increase food security by increasing yield and output to new pathways that aim at providing livelihood security and poverty alleviation. [more]
Reports
Is Organic Farming Worth its Investment? The Adoption and Impact of Certified Pineapple Farming in Ghana
Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Hindenburgufer
Global food markets demand the adoption of food standards by small-scale farmers in developing countries to assure their access to international markets. While certification with GlobalGAP is a market entry condition for conventional food, especially for horticultural products, organic certification is required for the increasing organic food market that is usually associated with higher prices. Aiming to analyze whether organic certified farming is worth its investment, this paper examines the impact of organic certification on the return on investment (ROI) of small-scale pineapple farming in Ghana. Using GlobalGAP certified farmers as control group, we are able to single out the effect of certification vis-à-vis contract farming and exporting. Data of 359 Ghanaian pineapple farmers obtained over one production cycle are evaluated using an endogenous switching regression model. The results indicate that farmers with either certification gain on average a positive ROI. However, organic certified farming yields a significantly larger ROI than GlobalGAP farmers mainly due to price premiums on the organic market. Thus, organic certification is found to be the more profitable. [more]
Influence of Farm Subsidy on Sustainable Maize Production in Transmara West District, Narok County
A Research Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Project Planning and Management, University of Nairobi 2012
This report is on influence of farm subsidy on sustainable maize production in Transmara West District, Narok County. The study was warranted by the continued food deficit in the world where around 925 million out of the total 6.8 billion people in the world are food insecure, 13.1 percent, or almost 1 in 7 people are hungry. From the literature reviewed it was found out that Maize the staple food for many Kenyans has been in the decline over the years. The country suffers a maize deficit of 6.8 million bags (612,000 metric tons). Maize imports cost the country between USD192 and USD 487 per year if imported from Africa and elsewhere respectively. The use of agricultural inputs is fundamental in modern agriculture in developed countries, and they were a primary ingredient in the green revolution that swept through Asia and Latin America during the ‘60s and ‘70s. However, the green revolution largely by-passed many African countries, and the use of agricultural inputs remains very low. While agricultural production and productivity soared in Asia and Latin America during the last four decades, they have largely stagnated in Africa, resulting in a rising dependency on imported grains and an increase in the number of food insecure people. Several efforts have been employed in developing the food security, scenario key among which was the use of farm subsidies in various ways with differing results. In Kenya National Accelerated Inputs Access program was started in 2007 and Transmara West district was chosen. Though not a net food deficit district it was intended to boost its production especially from the poor and the vulnerable farmers who were not using the inputs or using the inputs inadequately. The study therefore was to establish to what extent these farm subsidies have been able to influence maize production in Transmara west district over the four years after it was advanced to the 1500 farmers. [more]
Africa's Quest for Food Security: What is the Role of Urban Agriculture?
The African Capacity Building Foundation, Occasional Paper No. 19, 2012
The history of urban agriculture in Africa dates to the colonial era when farming flourished in urban areas, largely to meet consumption needs of bureaucrats, settlers, and other elites. Today, urban agriculture is becoming increasingly significant as a source of household food, a trend that is closely linked to declining incomes of vulnerable urban households in the wake of neoliberal economic restructuring, high rates of urbanisation, and the need to serve an emerging niche market in African cities. Urban agriculture is generally viewed as a potentially viable policy response to the complex challenge of feeding a burgeoning mass of urban residents amidst decline in food production in rural areas. Also, recent concern regarding climate change and the need to reduce the environmental footprint that comes from transporting food over long distances has given impetus to the need for urban agriculture. The aforementioned notwithstanding, the balance of evidence from existing literature on urban agriculture indicates that the practice faces varying degrees of opposition from urban authorities and policy-makers, who generally underestimate its actual value and contribution to urban poverty and food insecurity. The apparent lack of political will necessary to promote African urban agriculture over the years is reflected in weak or absent policy frameworks over the years, resulting in an enormous capacity deficit. Policy makers and planners need systematic information for planning and managing capacity development centered on urban agriculture. Such a focus on urban agriculture will unlock its potential to address the growing urban demand for food and to alleviate urban poverty. [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
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