Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Government Increases Cocoa Producer Price by 62.74 per cent
The Government of Ghana Thursday increased the producer price of cocoa by 62.74 per cent. Cocoa farmers in the country will now receive GH₵5,520 per tonne for the 2014/2015 crop season, up from the GH₵3,392 they got last year. The farmers would also be paid GH₵ 350 per 64kg bag for the 2014/2015 crop season. The government also announced that it would pay GH₵ 5.00 bonus per bag of cocoa to farmers in the 2014/2015 crop season. The move is expected to incentivize cocoa farmers and boost cocoa production in the country.
Ghana Signs Phase Two of WCFs Cocoa Livelihood Programme
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of Phase Two of WCF’s Cocoa Livelihood Programme (CLP). The WCF’s CLP programme started in 2009, and is operating in the four cocoa-producing countries of West Africa, namely, Ghana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria. The total funding of the programme for its 10-year lifespan, which is scheduled to end in February, 2018 is $70 million… Its objectives are to increase farm-level cocoa productivity to 1,000kg/ha, to improve service delivery efficiency including access to planting materials, fertilizer and agrochemicals, and improve farmer resilience through the production of food crops.
Police Intercepts Smuggled Cocoa Beans
The Hohoe police command has intercepted a truck with registration number GS 9077-12 loaded with cocoa beans in 39 fertilizer bags, 200 bags of cement and drums of locally distilled alcohol. According to the driver who gave his name as Kwame Togbente, he was to send the goods to Kpassa in Volta north and was not at the point of loading, hence has no knowledge about the cocoa beans. However, the Hohoe Divisional Crime Officer, ASP Kattey Ottumi said they had a tip-off leading to the arrest of the truck along the Wli road. He said it has been a perennial issue in the municipality with regards to cocoa smuggling.. He was therefore reluctant to release these consignment to COCOBOD though they requested to send the seized beans to their yard.
Cocoa, foodstuff locked up due to bad roads
More than 200,000 bags of cocoa and foodstuff are stuck in some producing districts in the northern part of the Western Region due to the collapse of two steel bridges and bad roads. Some of the affected districts include Amenfi West, East, Central, Ellembelle and Aowin. According to the farmers, the situation has compelled some of them, who are close to the Ivorian border, to sell their produce in neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire, rather than seeing it go waste. The Daily Graphic visited some of the communities, including Mumuni Camp and Woman No Good in the Amenfi West and Central districts, where two steel bridges which provide vital links to the main depots had collapsed.
FAO, MoFA Take Steps to Reduce Malnutrition in Ghana
The Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture(MoFA) are scaling up measures to eliminate malnutrition as well as ensure sustainable food and nutrition security in Ghana. As part of the measures, the two institutions organized a two-day National workshop last week for technical directorates under the MoFA and some key stakeholders to enhance their knowledge on how agriculture could contribute to better nutrition so that they could plan and implement nutrition sensitive policies and programmes. The workshop, held on the theme,'Strengthening Nutrition- Agriculture Linkages in the Medium Term Agriculture Investment Plan (METASIP) for Ghana,' discussed, among other things, best practices and approaches for improving nutrition within the METASIP and the work of technical directorates.
Agricultural Innovations Can Help African Farmers - Report
Findings from a new report issued by African Development Bank (AfDB) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), says Africa must embrace agricultural innovations to better compete in an evolving global bio-economy. The report, titled: “GM Agricultural Technologies for Africa,” analyses the benefits and constraints of adopting genetically modified (GM) technologies to address challenges related to population, poverty, food insecurity and climate change. The report, which was reviewed by stakeholders at a previous conference convened by the AfDB, provides an overall, evidence-based snapshot of GM technology in Africa. “It is not an endorsement of any position and is not based on de novo research,” a statement issued by IFPRI and copied to Ghana News Agency said.
USAID-FinGAP Build Experts Capacity on Agribusiness Financing
To address some of these challenges facing agribusiness in Ghana, USAID-FinGAP have trained personnel from financial institutions, including commercial, rural and community banks and business advisory service (BAS) providers, to better use cash flow-based financing along with traditional collateral-based financing. As of September 2014, the USAID-Financing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (USAID-FinGAP) has trained 64 participants from financial institutions and business advisory service providers on financial analysis and the use of cash flows to facilitate financing for agribusinesses in rice, maize and soy value chains in Ghana…“Cash flow financing is critical for agribusinesses since, unlike other sectors, loan repayments usually begin several months after financing is given to the agribusiness and the repayment period is tied to the seasonal cycles”.
Yam Traders Schooled on Storage Practices
Yam traders in Accra have been trained to effectively cure wounded yams, delay sprouting of stored yams in addition to the storage of yam in improved yam barn. The training program, organized by the CSIR-Food Research Institute in conjunction with Social Development and Improvement Agency (SODIA) is to address challenges in the production, handling and processing of root and tuber crops and also find solution to the huge waste which is generated by the processing of root and tuber crops. Sixty one traders drawn from Agbogbloshie, a suburb in Accra received the training developed under the GRATITUDE Project by the CSIR-Food Research Institute (FRI) which is a dissemination drive of technologies developed under the Gratitude project conducted by the CSIR-FRI.
Use 2015 Budget to Address Extension Challenges -Peasant Farmers Demand
The National Programme Coordinator of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Victoria Adongo has urged government to use the 2015 budget to address challenges relating to agriculture extension delivery in Ghana. According to her, though smallholder farmers dominate the agricultural sector in the food crop sector and they account for between 70 to 80 percent of the total labour force in the sector yet they are faced with numerous challenges which include inadequate access to quality extension services. “Delivering effective extension services are a complex process that requires financial and human resources and the ability to secure political will,” Adongo explained. She urged the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance to use the 2015 budget to address the financial and human resources barriers to agricultural
Fishermen Beg Government for More Premix Fuel
Fishermen at the Tema Fishing Harbour are appealing to government to increase the premix fuel it allocates to them weekly. According to them the appeal, has become necessary because of the influx of fishermen from other fishing communities to the area. Tema Awudum chief fisherman, Nii Odamettey, tells Citi Business News the four times a week allocation must be increased to seven or eight. He explains ‘the current allocation usually leads to shortage of premix fuel’. “We are pleading with government to increase our allocation because we cannot say we are going to serve only the people of Tema, we have over 500 canoes and other fisher – folks come to Tema and when they need the premix we must give them.”
Losses Along Food Production Chain Require Serious Effort
Prof William Otoo Ellis, Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has urged Ghana to scale up efforts at bringing down the high-level of post-harvest losses of the root and tubers to reduce rural poverty. The said recurring losses along the food production chain, he said, remained one of the biggest challenges to agricultural growth and a major disincentive to increased production. The government, agricultural experts and corporate bodies therefore need to work together to develop improved storage systems and technology. Prof Ellis, who was speaking at a multi-stakeholder workshop on yam storage systems and product development in Kumasi, said there should be massive investment in appropriate technology to tackle the problem and bring relief to farmers.
Minister Advocates Forest Conservation Research
Dr Alfred Sugri Tia, a Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has appealed to researchers to do a lot more on forest conservation. He also tasked all agencies in the forestry sector to address issues concerning policy, accountability and monitoring of systems to stem environmental degradation and protect the country's forests. "This will help minimise environmental impacts associated with mining and mineral exploitation and by effectively integrating the mining sector more efficiently into the economy." Dr. Tia made the appeal in an interview with Ghana News Agency after addressing the first ever National Forestry conference on the theme: "The Contribution of forests to Ghana's economic Development."
Peasant Farmers Advocate for Cattle Ranching Law
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), has advocated for the passage of a Cattle Ranching Law to help check the destruction of farms by herds. Mr John Akaribo, Focal Person of the PFAG, expressed concern about the spate of cattle rustling and the destruction of farms by herds, particularly Fulani herdsmen, and said until Parliament passed a law to regulate the movement of cattle, the problem would persist. “Scores of farmers who constantly experience the destruction of their farms by Fulani herdsmen are also withdrawing from farming. All these will affect agriculture productivity if nothing concrete is done to reverse the trend,” he stressed. Mr. Akaribo mentioned the raping of innocent Ghanaian women on their farms by some recalcitrant Fulani herdsmen, and stressed the need for the regulation of the ECOWAS Protocol on…
COCOBOD Farmers’ Scholarship Scheme, Not a Fluke
Nana Kwesi Fori, Central Regional Chief Farmer, has debunked allegations that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Farmers’ Scholarship Trust was a fluke, as was being speculated by some members of the public. He was reacting to questions posed by some cocoa farmers in the region, during an open forum to climax the regional sensitization durbar for farmers, held recently by the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of the Ghana COCOBOD at Bimpong Egya, near Twifo Praso, in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District. Some farmers alleged that the scholarship scheme was being manipulated by some officials of COCOBOD in Accra, and the other regional capitals in their favour, to the detriment of rural cocoa farmers… and explained that qualified farmers only needed to strictly adhere to the application procedures and requirements.
Food Advocacy Group Warns Against Plant Breeders Bill
Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG), a food advocacy body claims that Parliament is determined to defy democracy and the will of Ghanaians to pass the Plant Breeders Bill. It says Parliament is expected to resume for the Third Meeting of the Second Session of the Sixth Parliament around October 21, and the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is expected to present a report on the Petitions on the Plant Breeder's Bill, 2013. A statement issued by Ali-Masmadi Jehu-Appiah, Chairperson of FSG, said Parliament on the basis of the report, may decide on the next steps….“We have every reason to believe that Parliament is being blackmailed by USAID and the G8/G7 whose intention is to advance the interests of their agribusiness Trans National Corporations, (TNCs). Their tool is the G8 New Alliance, (G8NA).
Articles/Reports
Women’s Productive and Economic Roles towards Household Poverty Reduction in Ghana. A Survey of Bongo District in Northern Ghana
J Opoku-Ware - Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2014
Women in society perform several vital roles which can be categorized into three (3). These are reproductive, productive or economic, and community management. Although this study does appreciate all these forms of important roles played by women in society, it focused on the productive and economic roles that they play in order to help reduce poverty at the household level. Both primary and secondary data were used in the study. The primary data was obtained through interview and observation whereas secondary data was collected through a review of various literatures such as journals, articles, text books and the internet. The sampling techniques used in this study were simple random sampling and purposive sampling. The study identified that farming and trading were the major occupations among women in the Bongo district. However, the income earnings from these occupations alone by the women could not meet their daily basic needs
Determinants of Consumer Preference for Local Rice in Tamale Metropolis, Ghana
G Danso-Abbeam, M Armed, F Baidoo
This study examined the determinants of consumer preference for domestically processed rice and identified some of the constraints inhibiting the consumption of local rice in the Tamale metropolis. Logistic regression model and Kendell’s coefficient of concordance were used to analyze the determinants of consumer preference for domestic rice and some of the factors inhibiting the patronage of local rice respectively. The key variables influencing consumers preference for local rice includes; age, household size, monthly expenditure on food and taste. The results also indicated that about 65 percent of the respondents agreed that poor packaging of local rice is the number one factor inhibiting the patronage of local rice. There is therefore an urgent need to invest into the development and deployment of rice varieties to improve its taste
Water Balance Dynamics in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems of Northern Ghana: Unraveling the Interactions between Farm-Level and Landscape Fluxes in the Face of Climate Change
F Kizito, EK Panyan, A Ayantunde, D Bossio, N Karbo… - American Journal of Climate …, 2014
Agro-ecosystem productivity is highly dependent on moisture fluxes yet climate variability and climate change induce unpredictable dynamic interactions between farm-level and landscape-level flow of water resources. In this study, water balance dynamics at the farm level were investigated using real-time in-situ data collected with automated data logger while the Water-World model populated with long-term hydrological and climatic data was used to ascertain the impact of climate change on moisture fluxes at landscape level on agro-ecosystems of Northern Ghana. On-farm seasonal water balance estimates within intercropped maize-soybean stands revealed that with the 716 mm of rainfall received in the season,….
Socio-economic Characteristics of Subsistent Small Ruminant Farmers in Three Regions of Northern Ghana
F Adams, KO Yankyera - Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, 2014
The study seeks to characterise socio-economic and farm characteristics of small ruminant farmers in three regions of northern Ghana. Two hundred and forty-nine (249) respondents were selected using multistage sampling procedure. Analytical tools included descriptive statistics and ANOVA. Majority of respondents were males (71.5%), household-heads (65.9%), married (73.5%), Muslims (62.1%) and uneducated (63.9%). Access to extension (29.8%) and credit (14.9%) services was low. Farmers’ average age (47.29±16.00 years) and sheep holdings (12.14±9.60) were similar across the regions, but family size (11.56±7.83), goat holdings (11.89±9.32), and purpose of rearing small ruminants differ significantly. Adult children and female spouses contribute meaningfully to small ruminant management practices. Thus, socio-economic and farm characteristics offer significant input in designing effective livestock programs.
Crop Substitution Behavior among Food Crop Farmers in Ghana: an Efficient Adaptation to Climate Change or Costly Stagnation in Traditional Agricultural Production System?
ZA Issahaku, KL Maharjan - Agricultural and Food Economics, 2014
This study analyzes impact of climate change on yield, planting decisions and output of five major food crops (cassava, maize, sorghum, rice and yam) in Ghana. Results of Multivariate Tobit Model show that yield, planting decisions and output of cassava, maize, sorghum and rice will increase as a result of climate change. This is in clear contrast to the hypothesis that warming and drying will reduce crop yields in countries located within the tropics. Climate change impact on yields, planting decisions and output of yam is projected to be negative. Analysis of planting decisions indicates that climate change will stimulate farmers to allocate more land for cassava, maize, sorghum and rice cultivation. It is observed that farmers respond to positive impact of climate on yields of cassava, maize, sorghum and rice by reallocating more land for the cultivation of …
Resource - Use Efficiency: An Application of Stochastic Frontier Production Function to Plantain Farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria
VO Okoruwa, FA Sowunmi, FO Ogundele, CO Omigie - Journal of Economics and …, 2014
This study assessed the resource-use efficiency of plantain farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria using the stochastic frontier production function analysis. Primary data were collected from 160 plantain farmers in Abeokuta zone of Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (OGADEP). The mean efficiencies values for plantain production were 0.835, 0.675 and 0.721 for technical, allocative and economic efficiencies respectively. The return to scale value showed that plantain production was at stage of decreasing positive return to scale. The study also revealed the presence of inefficiency in the resource-use among plantain farmers in the study area (p < 0.05). The distribution of results also showed that the plantain farmers were more efficient in the use of some inputs. Changing the input combinations was observed to increase farm level efficiency.
Polluting Industries and Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Mining in Ghana
FM Aragón, JP Rud - 2014
This paper examines the effect of polluting industries on agricultural productivity. The focus is on large-scale gold mining in Ghana which, similar to other fuel intensive activities, releases environmental pollutants with the potential to have negative effects on crop health and key agricultural inputs. Guided by a consumer-producer household framework, we estimate an agricultural production function that incorporates the effects of pollution. We find that farmers located near gold mines experienced a reduction in total factor productivity of almost 40% between 1997 and 2005, relative to those farther away. Consistent with this result, we document higher concentrations of air pollutants and an increase in rural poverty near mines. We also explore whether mining could be affecting agricultural productivity in other ways, such as by reallocating workers…