Hello all,
It is a new week and you are warmly welcome to the week’s news digest. Please find below a summary of last week’s agricultural news articles on Ghana.
Agricultural Issues
FAO Signs Agreement with MOFA, GSS
The Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO) Monday signed two agreements with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, (MOFA) and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The agreements seek to fulfill the "Implementation of the Preparatory Phase of the Agriculture Census of Ghana" and "Empowering Cassava Value Chain Actors to enhance Incomes, Employment and Food Security”.
Ghana’s CSIR Supports Plant Breeders Bill
The Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has stressed the need for Parliament to expedite action on the Plant Breeders’ Right Bill, which is currently before it to enable Ghanaian plant breeders to protect crop varieties that they develop and enjoy royalties from them. “Just like any other intellectual properties such as a piece of music, a book, computer software and an artwork, among others, plant breeders have the right to protect crop varieties.
Develop Reliable Data for Agricultural Signed
The government and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Tuesday signed two agreements to develop reliable data for the agricultural sector and to commercialise the cassava sector. Under the agreement, the FAO is to provide $372,000 to support the preparatory work for the census of the agricultural sector to provide reliable data to help plan and implement policies in the country. The agreement also seeks to…
British Innovation Award Goes to SARI
A top British innovation award has been presented to the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute (SARI) and its partners implementing the Alliance for Green Revolution Africa’s (AGRA) Agriculture Value Chain Mentorship Project…The awards were formally presented to Dr Stephen Nutsugah, Director of SARI by Mr Phil Malone... He explained that the two institution won the Mobile Communication Category and the IVCA Chairman’s Gold Awards 2013 for developing a simple but effective and efficient innovation to…
Ghana Can Choose or Reject GMOs - US Embassy
The United States Embassy in Ghana says the country reserves the right to open its agricultural landscape to accommodate genetically modified foods. “We view it is Ghana’s decision to decide what is right for Ghana but we recognize the importance of the science led research aspect of it. There is tremendous research out there that shows…
Let’s Reflect Impartially over GMO-Catholic Bishops
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has jumped into the war of words over plans to push for legislation that will permit the introduction of Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Ghana, saying those pushing for GMOs should “hasten slowly on GMOs.”… We believe that Ghana can achieve food sufficiency and even produce surplus food for export using the conventional means of farming. This can happen if our governments put in place the appropriate measures and create the enabling environment for agriculture to thrive.
West Africa has Food Potential
Boosting productivity, fostering competitiveness and ensuring that small-scale farmers have greater access to markets are key to West Africa realizing its full agricultural potential, according to a new study released by FAO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The publication, Rebuilding West Africa’s Food Potential, presents a range of successful case studies since the region stepped up investments in agricultural development in the wake of the world food crisis in 2007-2008.
Agribusiness Boom Soon For Africa
It is no secret that Africa is on the rise and increasingly offering lucrative opportunities to local businesses due to the continent’s steady economic growth, increased disposable income and high consumer confidence. Charles Brewer, Managing Director of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa says that one particular sector which has seen significant growth in Africa is agribusiness…
Zoomlion Launches Organic Compost Project
Zoomlion Company Limited, the largest waste management organization operating in the country in collaboration with GIZ and DeCo, an organic fertilizer producer, have launched a compost plant project to produce organic fertilizer. The three-year project which would produce organic fertilizer using solid waste in a sustainable production capacity for smallholder farmers is…
Best Plantain Farmer Promises to Produce More
The Chief Executive Officer of Amanfrom Farms Limited, Mr. Kwadwo Nsafoa Poku has expressed his commitment to further contribute to food security in the country. The 70-acre Amanfrom Farms was adjudged the 2013 National Best Plantain farmer at the 29th Farmers Day recently.
Masara Farmers Association to Receive Cash
The Masara N’Arziki Farmers Association has started paying maize farmers under its umbrella to climax the 2013 farming season. The farmers, who have a guaranteed price for their produce are measuring high yields despite drought in the just-ended season. The good yields, which have resulted in a bumper harvest, have partly been attributed to…
Food Crisis/Security
WVI Meets Stakeholders On Food Security
The World Vision International WVI, Atebubu Development Programme ADP has organized a day's performance review meeting with stakeholders on its SATISFY project. SATISFY is a five year food security program implemented by the World Vision International and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) with the overall objective of improving the food security status of men and women in…
Reports/Articles
Productivity Intervention And Smallholder Farmers: The Case Of Ghana’s Cocoa Abrabopa Program
Despite the dependence of more than three-quarters of a million households depending on cocoa for their living in Ghana, the production segment of the cocoa industry is fraught with significant challenges manifesting as low farm productivity. Various intervention programs to help farmers improve productivity at the farm level have been used over the past few decades. One of such programs is the Cocoa Abrabopa Program (CAA), which uses…
Laboratory Assessment of Some Plants Latex as Biopesticide Against Cowpea Bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.)[Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae]
KD ILEKE, MO ONI, OA ADELEGAN - Journal of Agricultural Science, 2013
Laboratory evaluation of Calotropis procera, Alstonia boonei, Jatropha curcas and Argemone mexicana latex as biopesticide against cowpea bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.) [Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae] were evaluated at ambient temperature and relative humidity of 28±2oC and 75±5% respectively. The plants latex was tested at rates of 0.5 ml, 1 ml, 1.5 ml and 2 ml / 20 g of cowpea seeds. Adult mortality and adult emergence of the insects were investigated. Results showed that…
The Contribution of Indigenous Vegetables to Food Security and Nutrition within Selected Sites in South Africa
S Mavengahama - 2013
The utilisation of wild vegetables among South Africans is reported to be declining due to over reliance on introduced temperate species. Efforts to domesticate and cultivate wild vegetables could be hampered by several factors including seed dormancy and premature flowering. In this present study dormancy was observed in C. olitorius…
Socio-Economic Determinants of Commercialization Among Smallholder Farmers in Abia State, Nigeria
NM Agwu, CI Anyanwu, EI Mendie - 2013
The specific objectives of the study are to: examine the level of commercialization among the farmers; estimate the determinants of commercialization among the small holder farmers in the study area… It is recognized that agricultural commercialization and investment are the key strategies for promoting accelerated modernization, sustainable growth and development and, hence, poverty reduction in the sector. However, to attract investment into agriculture, it is imperative that those constraints…
Analysis of Food Security Situation among Nigerian Rural Farmers
Luke O. Olarinde, Ayanwale, Adeolu B; Olufemi A. Oladunni; Kaku, S. Nokoe; Adewale A. Adekunle and Oluwole Fatunbi
Several attempts have been made by various governmental, non-governmental and international organisations to address agricultural related challenges in the sub-Saharan African region, but without any meaningful positive impact. In recent time however, FARA came up with a new research paradigm known as the IAR4D2 (which has now been tested to be a potent instrument to be used in addressing these challenges. This study is therefore conceived to…