Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Farmers in Three Northern Region Meet to Establish Efficiency
About 700 maize, rice and soya bean value chain farmers and actors from the three regions: Northern, Upper East, and Upper West, met at a day’s forum hosted by the Ghana Grains Council (GGC) in Tamale the Northern Region capital, to interact and establish market linkages to enhance overall efficiency in their industries. The Tamale forum formed part of the fourth annual Northern Ghana pre- harvest Agribusiness forum, which brought together farmers, buyers, processors, transporters, input dealers and financial institutions. The event which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) and implemented by ACDI agricultural technology transfer and …
Ghana Achieves “Zero Hunger”
Ghanaian officials announced this month that Ghana has achieved “zero hunger,” and are crediting this success to some of the policies of former Ghanaian president John Kufuor. The Zero Hunger Challenge - a UN initiative that is supported by various Non-Governmental Organizations and foundations - aims to eliminate hunger through investments in agriculture, rural development, social protection, and equality of opportunity….While it is not clear whether Ghana has met all of these specific benchmarks, it has made significant strides in increasing agricultural production, tackling deforestation, and increasing its per capita GDP, which has increased from $275 in 2001 to $1,850 in 2013 …
SIETTA 2014 Takes off November 26
The International Cashew Processing Equipment and Technology Show 2014, dubbed SIETTA 2014, will be held from November 26 to 28 2014, at the Palais des Sports in Treichville, Abidjan, La Côte d’Ivoire. SIETTA 2014 is a “Show, Sell and Buy” event dedicated to the promotion of cashew processing equipment and innovative technology in Africa and the world. Presently, only 10 per cent of the raw cashew nuts produced in Africa are processed locally. The remaining 90 per cent of raw nuts are exported for further processing, leaving a great economic potential for many African countries largely untapped. It is in view of this, therefore, that the establishment of a sustainable and well-functioning cashew processing industry in Africa is very essential to ensure that added value is …
Members of Parliament Visit Biotech Cotton Field
Some Members of Parliament of the Select Committees on Food and Agriculture, the Environment and Trade have visited a Biotech Cotton confined field trial site at Nyankpala to acquaint themselves with the scientific technology. The visit, which took place on Wednesday, was facilitated by the Programme for Biosafety Systems, Ghana, an advocacy group on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The Biotech Cotton confined field trial is a project of the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR – SARI), forming part of the general scientific research towards the introduction of GMOs and biotechnology products in the country.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Society Launched in Sunyani
The Fisheries and Aquaculture industry is not performing well in Ghana and Africa as a whole in terms of fish production, utilization, processing, trade and consumption, Dr Berchie Asiedu, a Lecturer, has said. There is, therefore, the need for collaboration of experts to confront the challenges causing the under-performance to derive maximum economic benefits for rapid national socio-economic progress. Dr. Asiedu, Lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), said this during the launch of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Society (FAS) of the university on Thursday in Sunyani. He said the fisheries and aquaculture industry played important roles in the socio-economic development of the nation, mentioning food security and nutrition, job creation and….
Government Should Redraw Plant Breeders Bill – CPP
The Convention People's Party (CPP) has called on the Mahama Administration to withdraw, what it called “the disgraceful Plant Breeders Bill (PBB) submitted to Parliament by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice”. The party said the PBB was sent under the guise of meeting World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations. “Failing that, we call on Parliament to roundly reject the Bill in its current form,” a statement issued by Samia Yaba Nkrumah, CPP Chairman in Accra on Thursday, and copied to Ghana News Agency said. The statement said: “The whole world is watching. And we call on every Ghanaian who eats food to take a keen interest in the protection of the integrity of our food and water resources, the sovereignty of Ghana….
Saviour Church to Invest in Chocolate Manufacturing
The Saviour Church of Ghana had initiated talks for the processing of the large amount of cocoa produced by the church into chocolate and cocoa drinks. The Church has 1,000 acres of cocoa farm at Enchi in the Western Region, 150 acres cocoa farm at Abekwase in the Eastern Region, and another 120-acre cocoa farm at Sekyere in the Ashanti Region. Apart from the investments of the church, it is its policy to motivate each of the over 100,000 members, especially the male population, to own at least 10 acres of cocoa farm each as a form of social security. These were disclosed by the General Superintendent of the Church, Opanin Abraham Kwaku Adusei in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Osiem.
Articles/Reports
Modelling Farmers Investment in Agrochemicals: The Experience of Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in Ghana
G Danso-Abbeam - Research in Applied Economics, 2014
The study analyzes the effects of the determinants of farmer’s adoption of and investment in agrochemicals by collecting primary data from 156 sampled cocoa farmers in the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipality of Ghana. Descriptive statistical technique was employed to analyze demographic and farm-specific characteristics as well as the adoption rate and expenditure on agrochemicals. The findings highlighted the fact that, though a large proportion of farmers in the study area use agrochemicals, the intensity and amount spent to purchase these inputs are quite low. The Tobit regression model was used to identify and quantify the effects of the determinants of farmer’s investment in agrochemicals. The results generally indicate that the sex of the farmer, age of the farmer…
Towards Understanding Economic Growth in Africa
X Diao, M McMillan - 2014
An economy does not divide into a capitalist sector hiring workers for factories and other large units on the one hand, and a small farming sector on the other hand. In between are units of production of all sizes, and in particular a great number of one-to-five-man undertakings in manufacturing, transport and a wide range of services - often nowadays called the informal sector. Some of this activity belongs in the modern sector as we have defined it; i.e., it will expand with economic development; the rest - e.g., some of the handicrafts and some of the services - belong to the traditional sector in that they will contract. The expansion of small scale activity in the modern sector is an important part of the development process. This is not because it is a temporary resting-place for migrants from…
Assessing the Level of Hygienic Practices among Street Food Vendors in Sunyani Township
NA Sarkodie, EK Bempong, ON Tetteh, AC Saaka… - Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 2014
In recent time, there has been an increased in the springing up of street food vendors across the country and there is therefore an urgent need to ensure that street food vendors adhere to hygienic practices to protect public health. The main aim of the study is to assess the level of hygienic practices of street Food vendors in Sunyani Township. The study adopted descriptive approach and survey was used to gather primary data from 140 respondents. Questionnaires were used to gather data from the respondents and with the help of research assistance the questionnaire were delivered to the premises of the vendors. Data obtained from the study were analyzed by using SPSS and the results were presented in the form of tables. The study revealed that street food vending trade is …
Effect of Curing Treatments on Seven Key Farmers’ Yams (Dioscorea spp.) in Ghana
C Tortoe, S Dowuona, NT Dziedzoave, D Rees - Agricultural Sciences, 2014
Curing of freshly harvested yams (Dioscorea spp.) is a process for wounded yams during harvest to heal. In this work the effectiveness of straw, polypropylene and jute sack on curing of seven key farmers’ yam varieties over a duration of 7, 14 and 21 days was studied. Seven key farmers’ yam varieties identified as Pona, Lariboko, Dente, Mutwumudoo, Serwah belonging to D. rotundata, Matches and Akaba belonging to D. alata were studied under different curing treatments. The percentage weight loss of yam tubers varied among the treatments over curing period. Curing under jute sack showed all yam varieties had weight losses less than 2.0%, within 7 days of curing.
Adaptability Study of Banana (Musa Paradisiacal var. Sapiertum) Varieties at Jinka, Southern Ethiopia
T Yoseph, W Shiferaw, Z Sorsa, T Simon, A Shumbullo… - American Journal of …, 2014
A field experiment involving eleven improved banana (Musa paradisiacal var. sapiertum) varieties and one local check was carried out at Jinka Agricultural Research Center during the 2006 to 2009 cropping seasons under rain fed conditions to identify the best performing variety to the target areas of South Omo Zone. The banana varieties included in the field experiment were eleven improved (Kampala, Pisang, Lacatan, Poyo, Dwarf Cavendish, Giant Cavendish, Butuzua, Grand Naine, Robusta, Williams-1, Williams-2) and a local check. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Phenological and growth parameters, bunch yield and yield components were studied. The result showed that days to flowering were significantly affected by variety while days to maturity were not significantly influenced by variety.
Evidence-Based Research and Its Effect on Policymaking
N Islam - 2014
Evidence-based research is widely recognized as an essential input in effective economic policymaking. However, for the results of their research to influence policy, the research community must overcome a variety of challenges, including the absence of adequate and relevant data, differences of research results on the same policy issue, and deficiencies in effectively communicating policy conclusions to the policymakers. This paper stresses the need for increased investment in the generation of adequate and relevant data, and the responsibility of the researchers to seek to reach a consensus or narrow the range of and explain the reasons for their differences, thus enabling the policymakers to exercise their judgment. The direct and indirect channels through which effective interaction between the researchers and policymakers can be enhanced are examined…
Mapping Investment Flows into African Agriculture: the Role of CAADP
E Fraser
This study has been commissioned by the World Bank’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) with the aim of mapping the key investment streams flowing into African agriculture, as well as looking more closely at the funding of institutions delivering CAADP and the extent to which CAADP countries have been successful at unlocking investment into the agriculture sector. This report forms just one initiative in order to understand and to measure the impact of CAADP and more specifically, the CAADP MDTF. For this report key sources of information include global aid databases (OECD Stat and AidData), individual systems and website of development partners and recipient governments, and a desk review of relevant literature.