Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Genetically Modified Foods Pose No Risk
Dr. Margaret Ottah Atikpo, Deputy Director of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSRI) - Food Research Institute (FRI) on Friday reiterated that Genetically Modified (GM) foods posed no risk to lives. She stated GM foods were not harmful to human and animals as claimed by some anti GM activists and therefore called on farmers and the general public to disabuse their minds on such campaigns. Dr. Atikpo made the claim in a presentation on a topic Modern Agricultural Biotechnology… The workshop aimed at establishing and managing a range of platforms to enhance understanding of Biotechnology in agriculture for productivity was attended by 60 participants, including…
Databank to Rescue Africa Agric Sector
Databank Financial Services Ltd, an investment bank in the country, has established a private equity fund, Databank Africa Agriculture Fund (AAF), to finance agricultural activities across Africa. The fund, which Databank officials describe as a small and medium scale investment fund, was capitalised with US$30 million. The investment has this year added another US$6 million to the pan African fund. The Chairman of the Board of Director of Databank, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, who disclosed this to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS on March 20, after announcing management changes at the Group, said the fund invested between US$250,000 and US$4 million in each country at a time.
Demand for Tilapia High Locally and Internationally
As fish catches, especially, tilapia drop, against the trend of rising consumption, it is crucial to explore available water bodies in the country for fish farming, to augment the tilapia needs of the country. Mr. Believe Kwaku-Mensah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wales Agro Limited, an agriculture focused company who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in Ho on Friday said that exploration was worthwhile as fish farming was a very profitable venture. Fish farming especially tilapia is a very lucrative business, due to its high demand both locally and internationally, he stated. Mr Kweku-Mensah called on people, especially those living along the Volta Lake to take advantage of the cage culture fish farming method…
'Cocoa na Chocolate' Launched in Lagos
Cocoa na Chocolate, one of the continent’s biggest musical collaborations ever, in support of a new campaign to boost investments in agriculture has been launched by ONE.org.in Lagos, Nigeria: The campaign is dubbed ‘Do Agric, It Pays’. Nineteen of the top recording artistes from across Africa, including D’Banj and Femi Kuti from Nigeria, DR Congo’s Fally Ipupa, Cote d’Ivoire’s Tiken Jah Fakoly, Kenya’s Juliani, and South Africa’s Judith Sephuma, have come together to help rebrand agriculture and tell African youth that their future lies literally beneath their feet—and in their hands. These artistes are using their voices to inspire young people to join ONE.org, and tell political leaders ahead of the African Union summit in June that…
Workshop on Climate Change Ends in Wa
Mr Romanus Gyang, Project Manager of Adaption Learning Programme of Care International, on Friday appealed to government and other stakeholders to support the dissemination of climate information to small holder farmers in the rural communities. This, he said would facilitate building of adaptive capacities to mitigate the impact of climate change. Mr Gyang was speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-day Participatory Scenario Planning Workshop in Wa. The programme, was organised by Care International, USAID, WASH project and OXFAM, which brought together stakeholders from Ghana Metrological Agency, small holder farmers from 39 communities, Extension Services Department of the Ministry of Food and …
Cross-Border Trade Workshop Opens in Accra
Cross-border trade in agricultural and food produce in West Africa has suffered a lot of setbacks mainly due to road harassment practices, a survey report has indicated. The many unauthorised checkpoints, illegal charges on produce, illegal taxes and deliberate delays aimed at cheating traders and transporters have contributed to frustrations to many road users in the region. Ghana, for instance, has more than 40 roadblocks and checkpoints on its major corridors, particularly on the Paga-Accra corridor being manned by the Police and officials of Customs Divisions of Ghana Revenue Authority, who continue to unduly delay transporters, traders, and farmers, which derails cross-border trade.
Unilever,Monsanto Take Over African Land & Agriculture
£600 million of UK aid money is going to help companies like Unilever and Monsanto take over African land and agriculture, writes Miriam Ross. The corporate power-grab will be disastrous for the small-scale farmers who feed at least 70% of Africa’s people. The UK aid budget is intended to tackle poverty – not to create business opportunities for the world’s wealthiest and most powerful companies. Through the New Alliance, a handful of the world’s biggest food and agriculture companies have agreed to ‘invest’ in the ten African countries whose governments have so far signed up to the scheme: Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria, Benin, Malawi and Senegal.
Poultry, Livestock Import Policy to be Enforced in Ghana
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) will begin the strict enforcement of a poultry and livestock import policy to boost local production and cut down the country’s importation bill by the end of the year. According to GhanaWeb, the policy allows an importer to bring into the country only 100 tonnes each of livestock and poultry products every three months. Speaking at a conference and an exhibition on agriculture and trade in Ghana and the United States, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture in charge of Livestock, Dr Hanna Louisa Bissiw, said importers who flouted the regulations would have to return the products to the country of origin.
Entice Youth to Take Up Farming – Ambassador
Mrs. Evenly Anita Stokes-Hayford, Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy has urged the Government to look for innovative ways of making agriculture attractive to the youth. She suggested, for instance, the provision of start-up capital, inputs, and land for the youth who are interested in venturing into agricultural production, as well as the creation of a ready market for the produce. “By so doing we would attract a lot of Ghanaian youth into farming to undertake large scale food production to feed the nation and even export the surplus”, she stated. Mrs. Stokes-Hyaford made the call in an interview with the GNA on the sidelines of the 28th Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Africa in Tunis.
Grazing Reserves Proposal to Reduce the Clash Between Herdsmen and Farmers in Nigeria
Gov. Murtala Nyako of Adamawa on Saturday said that the Federal Government’s proposal to create additional grazing reserves would reduce the clash between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria. Nyako told newsmen in Yola that grazing reserves and ranching were in line with standard best practice that ensured maximum benefit to nomads.“Moving around with cattle in search of pasture is old fashion. You have to fence your cattle for security and better returns as obtained in developed countries.“In USA for instance, this policy was introduced since 1872,’’ Nyako said. Nyako urged state governments to ensure the protection of existing grazing reserves in the states against encroachment by fencing them and providing dams…
Nutritional Deficits Hits Parts of Europe and Asia
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) paints a picture of persistent nutrition problems due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and stunted growth in its latest snapshot of the Europe and Central Asia. On the eve of its biennial Regional Conference for Europe – in Bucharest, Romania – FAO concludes that although caloric intake in the 53-country region should see hunger fall to less than 1 per cent by 2050, nutrition problems continue in some of the countries today.“Caloric intake as a measure of undernourishment is currently not the major problem,” reveals the document.For many countries a more significant problem is the lack of adequate micronutrient intake and the sub-optimal quality of diets,…
Food Security/Crisis
Food Security Essential for Africa’s Poverty Alleviation: Experts
Ghana’s Government Statistician Philomena Nyarko said on Monday that food security was a necessary pre-requisite for Africa’s drive towards poverty alleviation. She said the required statistics was therefore needed to monitor and track progress made with respect to food adequacy for all, availability, accessibility and utilization on the continent. Nyarko made these remarks when she opened a five-day training workshop on Food Security Analysis using Food Consumption Data Collected through National Household Statistics for five Anglophone West African countries plus Somalia.The workshop seeks to develop the capacity of the sub-region to be able to provide sound statistical evidence to inform policies and programs…
Reports/Articles
The Socio-Economic Contribution of Small-Scale Industries to Livelihood of Women in the Shea Butter Industry in the Wa Municipality
KK Simon, AER Junior, AD Okyere, A Robert, N Elvis - European Scientific Journal, 2014
The Shea tree, which is now referred to as'VitellariaParadoxa', has enormous economic, medicinal, cultural benefits and as a food source. Yet it seems the mechanisms put in place to support the Shea butter industry are either not existing or they are inadequate in Ghana. Even though this is the general situation,the quantum of the industry’s contribution to women livelihood, the specific social and economic effects and the mechanisms created to support women in the industry are yet to be empirically investigated in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region. The study therefore sought to address what the contribution of the Shea butter processing industry in promoting the socio-economic development of women…
Challenges to Scenario-guided Adaptive Action on Food Security Under Climate Change
JM Vervoort, PK Thornton, P Kristjanson, W Förch… - Global Environmental …, 2014
This paper examines the development and use of scenarios as an approach to guide action in multi-level, multi-actor adaptation contexts such as food security under climate change. Three challenges are highlighted: (1) ensuring the appropriate scope for action; (2) moving beyond intervention-based decision guidance; and (3) developing long-term shared capacity for strategic planning. To overcome these challenges we have applied explorative scenarios and normative back-casting with stakeholders from different sectors at the regional level in East Africa. We then applied lessons about appropriate scope, enabling adaptation pathways, and developing strategic planning capacity to scenarios processes in multiple global regions.
Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining at Kenyasi in the Ahafo District: Environmental Stewardship and Policy Recommendations
I Agyemang, FA Bonah - 2014
This article examines the causes and effects of environmental degradation at Kenyasi in the Ahafo District in Ghana. The study seeks, among others, to assess the environmental impacts of NGGL on the people of Kenyasi and its immediate environs and identify the impacts of surface mining on water air and land pollutions in Kenyasi and its environs, examine the health implications of the environmental impacts of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) on the inhabitants of Kenyasi, and evaluate the management strategies employed by NGGL to curtail the numerous agitations by the inhabitants of Kenyasi and its immediate environs.
Irrigation Water Management in Small Scale Irrigation Schemes: the Case of the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake Basin
MD Ulsido, E Alemu - Environmental Research, Engineering and …, 2014
Appraisals of irrigation water management scenarios are crucial in project performance monitoring. A comprehensive irrigation water management study has been conducted on four small scale irrigation schemes in the Ethiopian rift valley lake basin. It is observed that from 147 irrigators 68% faced irrigation water supply unreliability, 79.1% encountered unfair distribution of water and 66 % underwent through timeliness problem in water distribution occasionally. All the investigated schemes witnessed a weak (50 % of all scheme users noted poor) organization of irrigation scheme administration. The Water Users Associations (WUAs) lack clear laws/by-laws and strategies to lead small or major canal operations and …