Here are the current developments in Agriculture in Africa
Agricultural Issues
Golden Rice Genetically Modified Organism People
A bowl of rice is the staple food for hundreds of millions of people. Without rice lots of people would starve. But, rice is deficient in some of the important vitamins, which determine the health of a person. After years of research scientists have managed to splice two vitamin-producing genes from a daffodil on to a rice plant. The so-called golden rice has created a lot of attention, because it might save thousands of children in the third world, who go blind or die, every year, from vitamin deficiency.
Ghana and Senegal Confirmed at Expo 2015
Milan, January 11 - Ghana, one of the world's leading growers of cocoa, joined an innovative, thematic country ''cluster'' of cocoa producers participating in the food and agriculture-themed Milan Expo 2015, a Ghanaian politician and Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino announced this week... Ghana is the latest of a number of African countries to see Expo 2015 as an international showcase for agricultural products… The theme of six-month Universal Exposition taking place in Milan May-October 2015 is "Feeding the Planet: Energy for Life," emphasizing food security, agriculture and international food products.
Africa’s Agric Business To Grow Steadily
Charles Brewer, Managing Director of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa (http://www.dhl.com), says that one particular sector which has seen significant growth in Africa is agribusiness, which entails the full value chain from agricultural production/farming through secondary processing, distribution and retailing to the end user/consumer (farm-to-fork concept). “…” He points to the recent report by World Bank – Growing Africa: Unlocking the Potential of Agribusiness – which revealed that Africa’s farmers and agribusinesses could create a trillion-dollar food market by 2030 – a three-fold increase from the current size of the market which is estimated to be worth…
Akuafo Adamfo Tops Its Sucesses With Ultra-Modern Office
In its quest to become and sustain the position as a leading private Licenced Cocoa Buying Company in Ghana, the Akuafo Adamfo Marketing Company Limited has inaugurated its corporate headquarters in Kumasi… The Asantehene applauded Akuafo Adamfo for the successes chalked up so far in the Cocoa purchasing industry, and particularly in creating jobs and boosting revenue generation - which contributes to the country’s economic advancement.
COCOBOD Organizes Education on Insecticide Use for Farmers
Mr. Peter Tandoh, Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager of Quality Control Company (QCC) has advised cocoa farmers to use insecticides approved by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) for increased production. He noted that it was only when cocoa farmers used the approved insecticides that Ghana would meet the international maximum chemical residue standard for her cocoa beans on the international market. He said the approved insecticides were…
SARI and Partners Receive Top Innovation Award
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 (AGRA) Agriculture Value Chain Mentorship Project. SARI and Country Wise Communications, Ghana, a private agency, jointly won two awards recently at the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Clarion Awards 2013, in London….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 disseminate information, especially on agriculture through the use of motor king video van to communities without electricity.
Prez Mahama’s 1st Year Media Encounter, The Missing Link
Sonetco Institute [SI] monitored the 1st anniversary of President Mahama which has become a religious right for every president of the fourth republic to address the nation through a media encounter by taking questions on the past year….One area we didn’t hear the president answer any question on nor spoke about in his introduction is agriculture; yes there was a bit on cocoa but he couldn’t capitalize on that to give us his performance on agriculture. This particular sector has been the….
Reports/Articles
The Contribution of Women to Household Food Security in the Kassena -Nankana East District in the Upper East Region of Ghana
Z SHAMSU-DEEN - International Journal of African and Asian Studies, 2014
The study examines the contribution of women in food production and its impact on food security in the Kassena Nankana district of the upper east region of Ghana. The specific objectives are: to examine the socio-economic characteristics of women farmers in the area, the challenges they face in food production. The study utilizes both primary and secondary data. Primary data were obtained through questionnaire administration and direct observation in the study area. 160 questionnaires were administered purposively to 160 women who are into food production and livestock production while the secondary sources were obtained from review of related literature on the subject matter.
Positions and Roles of Agricultural Extension Workers in Poultry Egg Marketing in Delta State, Nigeria
BO Ovwigho, RA Isiorhovoja, DE Idoge - Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
The broad objective of the study was to describe the role of agricultural extension workers in the marketing of poultry eggs. A sample of one hundred and five (105) enterpreneurs of small and medium scale poultry farms and forty seven (47) extension workers was randomly composed.. The marketing channel for poultry eggs consisted of the producers, middlemen/assemblers, wholesalers, retailers and consumer. The most important stages for advising farmers on egg marketing were the laying and packaging stages.
Potential of Underutilized Traditional Vegetables and Legume Crops to Contribute to Food and Nutritional Security, Income and More Sustainable Production Systems
AW Ebert - Sustainability, 2014
Agriculture is under pressure to produce greater quantities of food, feed and biofuel on limited land resources. Current over-reliance on a handful of major staple crops has inherent agronomic, ecological, nutritional and economic risks and is probably unsustainable in the long run. Wider use of today’s underutilized minor crops provides more options to build temporal and spatial heterogeneity into uniform cropping systems and will enhance resilience to both biotic and abiotic stress. Many traditional vegetables and underutilized legume crops are an essential source of vitamins, micronutrients and protein and, thus, a valuable component to attain nutritional security.