Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Economic Prospects High as $3billion Eurobond, Cocoa Cash Expected - BOG
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, says in spite of exchange rate pressures and a decline in major commodity prices, mid-term economic prospects are strong. He said the bank expected inflows of more than US$3 billion from the sale of a third Eurobond this year and receipts from the annual cocoa syndication loan to shore up its reserves in a bid to stem the persistent fiscal and exchange rate pressures… Dr Wampah said the US$3 billion would provide some significant support for the market in the second half of the year. “These developments are expected to help restore gross international reserves to a minimum of three months of import cover,” he added.
Ghana: Focus on Watermelon Cultivation in the Ada West District
The Ada West District is fast becoming one of the large watermelon growing areas in the country in recent times. The district has always been associated with the cultivation of tomatoes but, this trend seems to be changing as watermelon production is gradually taking over as the most widely cultivated crop. The crop is planted two times in a year; between January and March against the minor rainy season and from September to October during the major raining season. Despite its name, ironically, watermelon doesn't require much water to grow. The flat plains of the district are an ideal place for their cultivation as they do well in low-lying areas. According Mr. Reuben Adase, the Ada West District Agriculture Officer, six varieties of watermelon are grown in the district.
MOTI Announces Stimulus Package for Rice and Poultry Farming
The Government of Ghana would from 2015 extend a stimulus package to rice and poultry farmers, to boost their production capacity, to meet the demands of the domestic market. In view of this, a proposed provisional budget of GH¢50 million would be made available as special support to these sectors of Agriculture, to increase production, drastically reduce importation of those commodities, and create sufficient jobs for people who would be engaged in their production. Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Trade and Industry, announced this new policy measure at an interactive meeting with the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers over current developments in the industry on Friday. He said special financial strategies are being put in place to encourage the youth, in particular, to take full advantage of the facility, which calls for at…
MoFA Affirms Commitment to Agriculture
Mr. Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, Minister of Food and Agriculture, has affirmed his commitment to make Agriculture the foundation of Ghana’s economy, and to move the nation to a higher pedestal. The minister is set to build on the solid foundation laid by his predecessor, Mr. Kofi Humado, and draw on the long-standing experience of directors to improve output and efficiency. Mr. Kwetey who made the comment at the handing-over ceremony on Wednesday said exploring diverse ways of making farming attractive to the youth would form a major priority of the Ministry. “I have the passion to work for the transformation of the economy and getting young people to move into Agriculture…where they can make massive transformation,” he said. Mr. Humado presented handing-over notes that he said contained landmark achievements, impacts on….
Board to Spur SARI’s Commercial Viability
The new board of the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute (SARI) has expressed its preparedness to make the Institute commercially viable through advice to help promote research and innovative products to generate income. Dr. Naaminog Karbo, Director of Cognate Institute said this at the inauguration of a seven member board at the weekend to run the affairs of the institute at Nyankpala, in the Tolon district. Mr. Alhassan Andani, Managing Director of the Stanbic Bank chairs the board and other members included Dr. Karbo, Mrs. Gina Odarteifio, Mr Mohammed Adam Nashiru, Dr. Stephen K. Nutusgah, Mr. William Boakye-Achempong as well as a representative of the Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) yet to be appointed.
Ghana to Experience Food Shortage – PFAG
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) on Thursday made a passionate appeal to the government to urgently release fertilizers to farmers to avert low crop yield this year and imminent food shortage in the country next year….“Most of the food crops such as maize have yellowish leaves because they lack fertilizer nutrients therefore it is a clear indication that there will be low yield this year and this will result in food shortage next year if no stringent measures are put in place to rectify the situation”, he opined. He said the fertilizer subsidy policy instituted by the government was still in force and asked the government to explain the current fertilizer shortage.
GAIDA Denies Selling Fake Agrochemical Products
The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Agricultural Input Dealers Association (GAIDA) has denied that its members are engaged in selling fake agro-chemicals at the Kumasi Kejetia terminal. It said the association is a well-organized body and members had always complied with the rules and regulations governing their activities in the country. Addressing a press conference in Kumasi on Friday, Mr Francis Acheampong, Secretary of the Association, insisted that members were dealing in genuine agro products which had been registered and certified by all regulatory bodies in the industry. He mentioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Plant Protection and Regulatory Service Directorate (PPRSD) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) as some of the key regulatory bodies which had ….
Government Provides support for poultry Farmers
The Government is to initiate an intervention to revive the ailing poultry industry in Ghana. Consequently, young male entrepreneurs who want to venture into the poultry sector would receive a capital not exceeding GH¢1 million, while GH¢ 1.5 million will be used to support young, female entrepreneurs who want to venture into any of the value chain process of poultry production in the country. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, said the move would be supported with funds from the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF). He made this known during an interactive session with some stakeholders and members of the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) in Accra at the weekend. The session was intended to iron out all issues pertaining to the poultry sector and also reveal…
Addressing World Hunger: S.C. State Researcher Part of Global Leadership to Ensure Food Security
The need to feed an expanding population around the world has increased and many people are undernourished as a result of post-harvest losses, which can occur along the food production chain. To help address the fight against global food hunger, researchers in the United States and abroad have teamed up to establish the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Losses. Dr. Rizana Mahroof, S.C. State University associate professor of biological sciences and entomologist, is part of this five-year, $8.5 million grant funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. This federal government initiative will assist developing countries in reducing post-harvest losses of durable staple commodities, and is initially targeting Feed the Future countries such as Ghana, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Guatemala.
Ghana’s Economy Can’t Afford Further Subsidies unless… IMANI
The widely implied definition of subsidies in Ghana is the provision of goods and services at no cost or below market cost. Subsidies are direct expenses borne by the government with the central aim of lessening the burden of the cost of living on the poor, who make up 28.5% (2006) of the national population. Subsidies have become a permanent fixture in the Ghanaian economy. However, the toll on the national resource purse, along with mounting subsidy arrears, have reared up debates over whether subsidies are good or bad for Ghana’s developing economy. In Ghana, most subsidy programmes instituted by the government have the poor as intended beneficiaries. However, poor targeting has rendered them ineffectual. Subsidies, be it, in the Energy sector, Education sector, or Agricultural sector largely benefits the non-poor at the expense of key development projects and programs.
Tackle Weak Forest Law Compliance and Enforcement – FAO
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), has urged a scale-up of actions to tackle weak forest law compliance and enforcement. Dr. Lamourdia Thiombiano, FAO’s Deputy Regional Representative to Africa, said this has become necessary to stop the severe forest degradation and deforestation, resulting in considerable environmental damage. The damage by way of soil degradation and loss of productivity, loss of habitats and respective biodiversity, as well as severe reduction in the quantity and quality of services rendered by forest ecosystems, he noted, had combined to significantly change the livelihoods of the rural population. He said it was important to act firmly in the face of the threat posed to the integrity of forest landscapes, global climate change and the negative economic impact on global markets by illegal logging and trade of …
Independent Panel Urges Collective Action on Food Waste
A new report released by the United Nations High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security has called for collective action on food waste. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost one-third of food produced for human consumption - approximately 1.3 billion tonnes per year - is either lost or wasted globally: their reduction is now presented as essential to improve food security and to reduce the environmental footprint of food systems. The report dubbed "Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems", which was made available on Friday to the Ghana News Agency by the FAO, provides a systematic analysis of the impacts of food losses and waste on the sustainability of food systems and on food security and nutrition.
Chiefs Caution Parliament Against Passage of Breeders Bill
The Brong-Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs on Tuesday cautioned the Legislature against the passage of the Plant Breeders Bill. It said the Bill was very weak and immature, and called on the leadership of Parliament to suspend all proceedings in the interest of the nation. The chiefs gave the warning at an awareness-creation workshop on the Bill on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in Sunyani. It was organized by the Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), with support from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), an international NGO. The Plant Breeders Bill is a legal tool that gives plant breeders, mostly multi-national corporations, protection, and guarantees them income and potential monopoly over countries’ seed supply.
Gowri Group Embraces Fish Cage Farming
The Gowri Fish Farming Group on Wednesday expressed its preparedness to fully embrace fish cage farming as an alternative livelihood initiative to support regular earnings of its members. They group said it was beneficial to spend less time and effort feeding and monitoring fish in the cage so as to get a good harvest than to do wild fishing, which yielded low harvest. Mr. Abu Jamel, the Secretary of the group, made this known after the group had harvested its first batch of cage tilapia reared for six months on the Vea reservoir at Gowrie in the Bongo District. “This is far profitable, reliable and convenient than the traditional way of fishing which, we often end up not getting fish after sailing for a whole day,” he said. The fish farming initiative is part of 16 similar facilities built on selected dam reservoirs in the Northern and Upper East regions under the food security and environmental facility project.
Commodity Prices in Marginal Increase
Both the retail and wholesale commodity indexes inched up in the week ending July 11, with the wholesale index - EGCI-W- rising by 0.53 per cent and the retail index – EGCI-R- rising by 0.02 per cent. The EGCI-W closed the week at 22934 points, as compared to 22293 points the previous week, representing a rise of 641 points in absolute terms. The EGCI-R gained 653 points on the previous week’s closing when it closed at 26130 points. Compared to the closing values for the month of June (value date June 27), market prices have been in steady rise, as the closing values on July 11 represented a rise of 2.54 per cent and 3.4 per cent for EGCI-R and EGCI-W respectively. The Esoko-GNA Commodity Index tracks commodity prices in key markets across the country. The index is calculated based on 12 tracked commodities in seven key markets across the country.
Food Security/Crisis
African Union Summit: President Obiang Asks for Greater Investment in Agricultural Sector
Equatorial Guinea’s President, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo , asked African countries to invest heavily in their agricultural sector to decrease their dependence on the developed world, ensure food security, and significantly reduce hunger in their countries. He made his remarks at the closing session of the Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union (AU)… The development of agriculture can greatly reduce this dependence,” he said. “Africa can ensure food security and significantly reduce hunger in our countries. Africa should heavily invest in agricultural development to transform itself in order to accelerate growth to increase production and productivity,” said Obiang.
CSIR to Address Challenges in Food Security and Environmental Management
Dr. George Owusu Essegbey, Director of CSIR Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI), has said that the institute is concerned with the application of Science and Technology to address development challenges in Agriculture, Industry and the Environment. He said the CSIR- STEPRI was focused on demonstrating the practical relevance of research in all its features. Dr Essegbey made these remarks at a sensitization workshop organized by CSIR/STEPRI, in conjunction with the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, for stakeholders on the Development Research Uptake in Sub- Saharan Africa (DRUSSA) Project. He said Ghana is seeking for innovative ways to solve its socio-economic challenges, as such, the DRUSSA project can demonstrate the out of the box thinking, that enables the country to meet the challenge of effective policy formulation and implementation.
Reports/Articles
Assessment of Farm Outputs and Rural Income Generation of School-to-Land Agricultural Programme (STLAP) in Rivers State, Nigeria.
DH Nwanyanwu, A Chuckwuemeka, N Amadi - Journal of Biology, Agriculture and …, 2014
Earnings and farm outputs have remained the basis for assessing agricultural performance all over the world. Rivers State School-to-Land Agricultural Programme was initiated to improve the lives of rural dwellers. This study comparatively assessed the income and farm outputs of participating and non-participating farmers to School-to-Land Programme. A total of 84 samples were used for the analysis. A multi-stage proportionate stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting 73 participating farmers while cluster sampling technique was adopted in selecting 38 non-participating farmers. The major method used for data collection was the use of questionnaire and focus group discussion which included direct field observations….It was recommended that government should supply inputs to farmers, involve farmers in agricultural policy decisions and provide financial facilities to cooperatives to enable members easily access soft revolving loans.
Genetically Modified Crops: How Long Before Africa Benefits?
G Brookes - Viewpoints: Africa's Future... Can Biosciences …, 2014
The technology of genetic modification (GM) has now been utilized globally on a widespread commercial basis for 18 years and by 2012, 17.3 million farmers in 28 countries had planted 170 million hectares of crops using this technology. Some 90 per cent of these are resource-poor farmers in developing countries. During this period, GM technology has delivered important positive socio-economic and environmental benefits for both farmers and citizens in the adopting countries….. Genetic modification has also made important contributions to increasing global production levels of the four main crops, having for example added 122 million tonnes and 230 million tonnes to the global production of soybeans and maize, respectively, since the introduction of the technology in the mid-1990s.
Translocation of Pesticide Residues in Tomato, Mango and Pineapple Fruits
AA Agyekum, GS Ayernor, FK Saalia, B Bediako-Amoa - 2014
Pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables have become a major concern in chemically related food safety issues. Translocation of pesticides in tomato, mango and pineapple fruits in local produced samples was investigated using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrophotometer (GC/MS) procedures. Samples were fractionated with respect to distance from the skin to the core and prepared for analysis. Results showed that organochlorine, organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid residues were translocated in all fruit samples analyzed. With respect to tomato fractions, the peels retained more residues compared to the pulp and the central core. On the chemical species, organochlorines were retained more in the peels of tomato than the other fractions of the fruit. More organophosphate and organochlorine residues were detected in pineapple peels compared to the pulp. Synthetic pyrethroid residues were evenly distributed in the pineapple fruit. In mangoes, the pulp retained more chemical residues than other fractions of the fruit.
The Challenges of Managing Agricultural Price and Production Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa
L Antonaci, M Demeke, A Vezzani - 2014
Agricultural production is prone to several risks which affect both producers and consumers. In order to enhance investment and achieve a sustained increase in production, coherent and integrated long-term strategies and policies are required to reduce risk aversion and build resilience among African rural producers. Furthermore, the critical importance of social protection and its complementarity to risk management initiatives must be recognized. This paper investigates possible tools and instruments to deal with various production and price risks. Market-based approaches are crucial for risk management options to thrive, but the country experiences examined have highlighted that most of the risk management instruments are not in place or are not fully developed in Sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers are not protected against production and price shocks and this underscores the critical role of governments in agricultural risk management…
Enabling Environment for Agricultural Growth and Competitiveness: Evaluation, Indicators and Indices
E Diaz-Bonilla, D Orden, A Kwieciński - 2014
The key contribution of this report lies in developing a typology to structure the components of the enabling environment for agricultural growth and competitiveness, and in constructing an illustrative Agricultural Growth Enabling Index (AGEI) to summarize a wide array of available information in a coherent manner. The construction of the preliminary AGEI is based on four blocks with 40% of the weight on agriculture/rural factors and 20% each on broader economy-wide governance, capital availability and market operation. The AGEI can be used to provide across-country comparisons or single-country evaluations using the index itself or its components. It allows the decomposition within each main block to show the relative strength and weaknesses of each country across various sub-indices... The preliminary results demonstrate that the AGEI brings together information relevant to the enabling environment for agricultural growth and competitiveness, and which is largely consistent with more in-depth studies of the selected countries.