Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Invest in Agriculture – Minister to Ghanaians
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado has called on rich Ghanaians to invest in various areas of agriculture across Africa, especially in the fertilizer sector to help achieve a hunger-free and poverty-free Africa. According to him, governments all over the world are working hard to develop regulatory frameworks to control the fertilizer industry, the Ghana government cannot do it alone without active engagement with the private sector. “Nothing can be more rewarding to our farmers than providing them with the opportunity to increase their yields and incomes to be able to improve their general well being. One of the ways we can do this is by working together to ensure quality standards in the inputs that are made available to these farmers.” Clement Kofi Humado made the call at a fertilizer quality control workshop..
Cocoa Stakeholders Team up to Make Farming Sustainable
The initiative known as CocoaAction, calls for building a rejuvenated and economically viable cocoa sector through increased cooperation between industry and the Ghanaian government. Emphasis will be placed on providing cocoa farmers with a combination of productivity enhancements and community development interventions. These efforts are expected to enable no fewer than 100,000 Ghanaian farmers to achieve 100% increase in productivity as well as improving the communities where they live by 2020. The strategy will be coordinated by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). “This agreement represents one of the most significant steps the sector is taking to make cocoa sustainable,’’ says Barry Parkin, WCF’s newly-appointed chairman and chief sustainability officer at Mars Incorporated.
COCOBOD, Stakeholders Brainstorm on Cocoa Sector Challenges
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is collaborating with private sector institutions and stakeholders in the cocoa sector to find long-term solutions to existing and expected challenges in the cocoa industry. The board will also look at the bottlenecks constraining the operations of institutions in the supply chain, and land acquisition problems, and fashion a strategic vision for the sector, including the need for closer collaboration among the government, local and international institutions in the sector. Accordingly, a two-day scenario planning workshop on the industry is being held in Accra to solicit the views of experts on the way forward for the industry. The workshop, on the theme, “The Future of Ghana's Cocoa Sector”, has brought together processors, licensed buying companies, non-governmental organisations in the cocoa sector and government officials to discuss the pertinent issues likely to shape the industry for the next 20 to 25 years.
COCOBOD Begins Free Distribution of Fertilizers and Chemicals Nationwide
The Ghana COCOBOD has begun free distribution of fertilizers and chemicals to selected cocoa farmers across the country, as part of an aggressive drive to increase crop yield. This also ties in with the overall strategy to revamp cocoa production levels to hit the one million metric tons target, and take advantage of the expected high demand of the product on the world market. About 1.6 million bags of fertilizer and a large quantity of chemicals are being supplied under the intervention. The Executive Director, Cocoa Health and Extension Division of COCOBOD, Dr Francis Baah, announced this at a meeting with district cocoa chief and queen farmers, extension officers, cocoa quality control officers and District Chief Executives in cocoa-growing districts in Kumasi.
COCOBOD Disputes Calls on Cocoa Farmers to Increase Production
The Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Dr Kwabena Opuni, says recent calls on cocoa farmers to increase their production to meet world demand does not make economic sense, especially at a time when prices of cocoa on the international market are declining. According to Dr Opuni, it will be worthwhile to consider the two sides of the arguments in a proper perspective. The Chief Executive made the comment at a workshop to transform Ghana's Cocoa in Accra.
"Irrigation Holds the Key to Ghana’s Self-sufficiency in Rice Production"
The Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) said irrigation farming holds the key to Ghana’s self-sufficiency in rice production. Dr Ben Vas Nyamadi, GIDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said currently, the nation is generating 56 per cent of its rice needs of which 30 per cent is from irrigation farming. He observed that, so far the measures government had put in place to fill up the short fall of 44 per cent were beginning to yield good returns, declaring that with emphasis being placed on irrigation farming the nation would be self-sufficient in rice production by the year 2018….Current strategies to grow the sector by 13.2 per cent would lead to 100 per cent production by 2018.
MASLOC Assist Farmers In Sissla East & West Districts of Upper West Region
Fourteen farmers in the Sissla East and Sissala West Districts of the Upper West region have been assisted by Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre, MASLOC to purchase tractors and their implements. The move is to make tractor services available to farmers at the right time and at affordable cost to increase food production in order to reduce poverty.Presenting the tractors to the beneficiaries Deputy Regional Minister Abu Kansangbata said government will continue to implement interventions that will make the agricultural sector attractive to the youth. Access to tractor services and other farming inputs on time has been a major challenge confronting farmers in the Upper West Region.
Non-traditional Export Rake in $2.44bn
Export of non-traditional products for the year 2013 amounted to $2.439 billion, an increase of 3.5 per cent over the previous year’s earnings of $2.364 billion. Between 2001 to 2008, the sector had grown steadily at an annual rate of about 16.4 per cent, with the highest rate of 30.4 per cent occurring in 2007. In 2010 and 2011, earnings from the sector went up by 34.1 per cent and 48.74 per cent, amounting to $1.629 billion and $2.423 billion respectively… According to Mr Quarcoo, though the export sector is driven by value-added products such as cocoa and timber, it is yet to explore its full potential and, therefore, charged exporters to add value to their products as a way of achieving a change in the export market to better the Ghanaian economy.
Traditional Plant Species to Help Fight Malnutrition
Food, often regarded as one of the basic needs of mankind, seems to be a scarce commodity in many households in Africa. The state of malnutrition, especially in some poor rural communities, usually affects the health of children, resulting in illnesses such as stunted growth, goitre, blindness and kwashiorkor. This, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), is directly or indirectly responsible for about 3.5 million child deaths every year in Africa; a situation which is partly attributed to low vegetable and fruits intake. Sadly enough, global measures to reduce the menacing effects of this phenomenon on the continent appear to be geared towards the introduction of food supplements which are …..
Prices of Tomato,Onions Rise in Tamale - Survey
The prices of tomato and onions keep rising in the Tamale Metropolis due to inadequate supply of the two commodities in the two main markets, Aboabo and Tamale Central markets. A bowl or what is termed as “Paint container” of tomato (Navrongo variety), which was being sold last week at GH¢25 is this week selling between GH¢30 and GH¢35 depending on the quality while an “olonka” of onion has shot up from GH¢32 to GH¢35. A GNA survey on Friday in the two markets showed that the unstable price of tomato has been as a result of a short supply of the commodity especially the Navrongo variety. Other commodities that had increased slightly included millet, groundnuts and local rice, whilst yam, sorghum, pepper, beans and cow pea had reduced slightly.
Danger: Fishermen Using DDT, Carbide for Fishing
Fishermen in Lower Axim in the Western Region have resorted to the use of DDT, carbide, dynamite and light for fishing. The result is that most of the fishes are brought to the shore dead and discoloured, with broken flesh and sunken eyes, indications that they are not fresh. There are fears that the practice may be widespread along the west coast of the country. The use of chemicals such as DDT and carbide poses a serious health hazard to fish consumers at Axim and beyond. Some of the chemicals have had dire consequences on the fingers of some fishmongers. Health experts say eating food with large amounts (grammes) of DDT over a short time will most likely affect the nervous system.
NDC Must Sack The “GMO” Deputy Majority Leader!
Mr Alfred Agbesi, Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament appears confused about the nature and contents of the Plant Breeders Bill. He appears either not to have read the Bill, not to have understood it if he read it, or simply be lying (deliberately misleading) his constituents as to the nature of the Bill, when he told them, “the Plant Breeders Bill before Parliament is not intended to introduce Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) food into the country”. Mr Agbesi, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, said this during the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly’s First Ordinary Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Second Assembly.”
EU Develops DNA Testing Regulation for Wood
The European Union (EU) has developed a new timber regulation that will require all timber and wood products entering the EU market to be genetically tested to identify their true origin. The objective of the DNA tracking system is to ensure that only timber products acquired from legal sources are supplied onto the European market. Already, the DNA technology for tracking timber has been enacted into law in Germany and it is being implemented by the authorities. Professor Bernd Degen of the Thünen Institute of Forest Genetics in Germany made these known at an international training workshop on wood anatomy technologies for tracking legal timber at the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) at Fumesua, near Kumasi over the weekend.
Dr. Vandana Shiva Visiting Ghana – FSG
Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG) has announced that, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology would visit Ghana on Sunday, June 8, 2014. A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said Dr. Shiva would give public lectures on issues of industrial agriculture and specifically on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and the green revolution in India. It said the trip, under the auspices of Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), will take Dr. Shiva to Zimbabwe, Ghana and Tanzania. It said Dr. Shiva will arrive in Ghana on Sunday, June 8, 2014 and leave for Tanzania on Tuesday, June 10. “’AFSA believes the Industry is aggressively lobbying and flying around presumably converted GM proponents to convince African government's and society to accept industrial agriculture including the adoption of GMOs.
Results Show Africa Can Eradicate Striga
Improved technologies being promoted by the Integrated Striga Management for Africa (ISMA) project have shown promise that Striga—a parasitic weed that destroys cereal and legume fields could be eradicated from Africa. Infesting up to 4 million hectares of land under maize production in sub-Saharan Africa, Striga causes farmers yield losses of up to 80% representing about US$1.2 billion, and affects approximately 100 million people in the continent, a statement from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said on Thursday. It said in the last three years, the ISMA project has deployed an integrated approach for managing Striga while improving soil fertility and reducing the Striga seed bank for sustainable increases in crop yields in some selected communities in Nigeria and Kenya.
Media Practitioners Urged to Specialise on Climate Change Reporting
A consultant on the environment has appealed to journalists to use the media to take governments on to adhere to actions that would address Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation issues. Mr Philip Acquah, an Environment and Energy consultant, said this in Tamale on Wednesday at the start of a three-day Adaptation Learning Programme aimed at training media personnel on Climate Change. Media personnel drawn from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions are attending the programme, which also aimed at equipping the media with the requisite information to enable them disseminate accurate information on climate change adaptation and mitigation issues. The CARE international sponsored programme would educate the media personnel on Climate Change impacts and attribution, Mitigation opportunities and Challenges in Agriculture and land use, Mitigation opportunities and challenges in energy as well as the National Climate Change Policy and Policy Actions.
EPA Concerned Over Wrong Use of Pesticides
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expressed concern about the growing misuse and unsafe handling of pesticides by farmers. Mr Issac Osei, the Ashanti Regional Director, said they found it deeply worrying that in spite of the intensive public education campaign some farmers persist in doing the wrong things. That, he warned, could prove fatal - a potential danger to public health. Let nobody under any circumstance under-estimate the imminent danger, he said, at a days workshop on pesticides regulations held for selected journalists in the region at Akyawkrom in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality. It was jointly organized by the EPA and the West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme (WAAPP) with funding by the World Bank. The workshop brought together more than 40 participants from both electronic and print media and the goal was to adequately equip them to effectively educate the public against the misapplication of chemicals.
MOFA to Mainstream EOA into Government Policy
Mr. Emmanuel Asante Krobea, the Director of Crop Service, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), has said that, the Ministry would mainstream the Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) into government policies and strategies. He made this known during a policy workshop on mainstreaming the EOA in Accra. The EOA is farming in harmony with nature using cultivation techniques in breeding programmes that do not rely on soluble chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or artificial genetic modifications. Mr. Krobea said the significant of ecological agricultural practice is being recognized all over the world, especially in developing countries. He said the African Union Heads of States and Governments decision in 2011 on organic farming in Africa underscored the growing recognition of the positive role played by EOA in addressing food security and poverty in Africa.
Food Security/Crisis
EXPO Milan 2015 and November Nutrition Conference to Galvanize Action on Food Security
FAO Director-General says upcoming hunger and nutrition events in Italy of "paramount importance" in tackling urgent challenges. EXPO Milano 2015 and the ICN2 nutrition conference will focus on global food and nutrition. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has said that next year's EXPO Milano 2015, with its food security-oriented theme, and an international nutrition conference coming up in Rome in November, will be "emblematic efforts that help to shape the sustainable future we want," FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said. Speaking at a round-table discussion linked to EXPO 2015, Graziano da Silva said, "We need to act now, forcefully, to reach a world in which there is no over-or under-nutrition."
DuPont-Sponsored 2014 Global Food Security Index Shows Significant Improvements
DuPont and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) today released the 2014 Global Food Security Index that showed 70 percent of countries in the study increased their food security scores over the previous year. The 2014 Index measures 109 countries against 28 food security indicators that monitor the ongoing impact of agriculture investments, collaborations and policies around the world. The Index also examines how two new factors, obesity and food loss, affect access to safe, nutritious and affordable food. "The Index provides a common set of metrics that enable us to track progress in food security globally, and the outcomes thus far are promising," said Craig F. Binetti, president of DuPont Nutrition & Health.
Reports/Articles
The termite controlling capabilities of extracts of Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum in Ghana
TT Ama, TS Kwadwo, BP Paul, E James - 2014
There is an increasing interest in using natural products in pest control because of their low mammalian toxicity and environmental safety. Some local plant materials have been identified as potential alternative. The objective of this work was to determine the antitermitic efficacy of Thevetiaperuviana K Schum. The termite controlling properties of petroleum ether, ethanol and water extracts obtained from the roots of T. peruviana (pers) K. Schum roots were studied. To do this stakes were impregnated with extacts obtained from T. peruviana and burried in the field for a period of 5months. The repellency/attractancy tendencies of ethanol extract of T. peruviana in different solvent media were also determined as well as Brine shrimp lethality tests to determine the efficacy of four fractions obtained from the ethanol extract.
E-Agriculture Information Management System
S Thankachan, S Kirubakaran - 2014
Technological importance have been a great support for making decisions in various fields especially in agriculture. The development of agriculture has been on under development for the past few years due to lack of Agriculture knowledge and environmental changes. The main aim of this paper is to reach farmers for their awareness, usage and perception in e-Agriculture. The study used statistical survey design technique to collect data from farmers for their awareness in e-Commerce. The results obtained indicated the level of awareness is less such that there is a need for e-agriculture for their support. e-Agriculture is a platform for supporting marketing of agricultural products.
More than Adopters: the Welfare Impacts of Farmer Innovation in Rural Ghana
JA Tambo, T Wünscher - 2014
With the rapidly changing economic environments and numerous challenges hindering smallholders’ adoption of externally developed technologies, it is often argued that farmers’ innovations may be essential in the livelihoods of rural farm households and need to be promoted. Yet a rigorous assessment of the impacts of farmer innovation is lacking. Consequently, we analyse the effect of farmer innovation on household welfare, measured by farm and household income, consumption expenditure and food security. Using data from a recent field survey of rural farm households in northern Ghana and endogenous switching regression which controls for non-random selection bias, we estimate the welfare gains for innovators from innovating, and non-innovators had they innovated. We find that farmer innovation significantly improves both…
Long-Term Determinants of Agricultural Output in Smallholder Farmers in Rwanda
I Musafiri, A Mirzabaev - 2014
This paper analyses the household level drivers of agricultural output in Nyabihu District, a densely populated area of rural Rwanda, over the past 26 years. We use a unique two-wave panel dataset spanning a 26-year period, linking the split-off households in 2012 to the original households in 1986. The findings identify the relative importance of labor, land, and capital for output growth in the study area. Over the studied period, the agricultural output has been characterized by decreasing elasticities of land and capital; whereas the elasticity of labor has grown three-fold. The findings also suggest a substantial impact of mobile phone technology adoption by farm households. Using propensity score matching, we find that agricultural output for mobile phone users is at least 38 percent higher than non-users.
Impact of Land Administration Programs on Agricultural Productivity and Rural Development: Existing Evidence, Challenges and New Approaches
J Gignoux, K Macours, L Wren-Lewis - 2014
Investment in land administration projects is often considered key for agricultural productivity and rural development in developing countries. But the evidence on such interventions is remarkably mixed. This paper reviews the literature and discusses a number of challenges related to the analysis of the impacts of land administration programs, focusing on developing countries where the starting position is one of land administration systems based on the Napoleonic code, with existing individual rights that may be imperfect and insecure. We examine a set of conceptual and methodological challenges including : 1) a conceptual challenge related to the need to unbundle property rights and to establish the plausible causal chain for land administration interventions; 2) the existence of other binding constraints on productivity, implying the need to consider heterogeneities in policy impacts and the complementarity between property rights and other productive interventions; 3) the need to account for spillovers of land interventions on non-targeted households; and 4) methodological challenges related to the causal identification of the impacts of such interventions.