Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
European Union (EU) Funds Research to Maximize Yam Production
The European Union (EU) is Ghana and United Kingdom research institutions to cut post-harvest losses of yams, estimated at 60 percent globally. Through the GRATITUDE project, the EU is funding the efforts of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research -Food Resources Institute (FRI) and Natural Resources Institute (NRI) of University of Greenwich UK, on making gains from losses of roots and tubers like yam and cassava. An official statement from the research bodies said the project aimed at reducing these losses to enhance the role the yam plays in food and income security through value added processing to reduce physical and economic losses…According to the statement, yam is one of the important food security crops for approximately 700 million people in the world, however, 60 per cent of fresh yams are currently considered to be lost after harvesting.
Greater Investments Needed in Agric for Food Security - AU
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has called for greater investments in agriculture by African countries to guarantee their ability to feed about two billion Africans by 2050. She said it was time for Africa to transform from a continent reliant on food imports to one that could feed itself and ultimately export a surplus to help feed a growing world population. According to her, such a move was a crucial goal in its own right, as investment in agriculture had also proven to be the continent’s solution to long-term social and economic development concerns of youth unemployment, gender inequality and climate change adaptation, which were major issues facing every African country.
Automated Weather Station Launched to Serve Local Farmers, Schools
An automated weather station aimed at providing innovative weather censoring and information services to local farmers and for climate change education in schools has been launched in Accra. Known as the Trans African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO) project, the initiative is also designed to build a network of hydro-meteorological monitoring stations in Ghana. More than 10,000 cocoa farmers are to benefit from the initiative which was funded by The Netherlands at a cost of £250,000… At the launch in Accra, the Board Chairman of Country Water Partnership, a non-governmental organization (NGO), Nii Boi Ayibotele, said access to accurate climate data was essential for the sustainable development of agriculture, weather forecasting and climate change….
Gender Inequalities are Widespread in Agric
Send-Ghana, a non-governmental organization, says gender inequalities are widespread in agriculture and rural employment. It said those inequalities manifested in limited access to inputs and services including land, livestock, labour, extension and limited financial services and mechanization. Mr. Adamu Mukaila, Programme Officer of Send-Ghana, said the contribution of smallholder women farmers to agricultural production, processing, marketing and household food security and nutrition often go unrecognized... Mr. Mukaila said while women played very important roles in the agriculture value chain, they were faced with gender – specific constraints thereby reducing their productivity and limiting their contributions to agricultural production and economic growth.
Rainwater Harvesting is Key to Attaining Food Security
There is no doubt that the upsurge of climate change is having a great impact on food production and a telling effect on food security in the Northern Ecological Zone of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA). In the 1980s the Upper East Region used to have rainfall in March and farmers could get busy on their farms by April. Those days, farmers got abundant harvests that enabled them to feed their families throughout the dry season. But the situation got worse after the 1990s when the region started recording rains in May and June. As if this delay is not enough, the rainfall pattern has also become erratic thereby affecting food production adversely and causing food security problems.
Farmers Sign Pact with MPs to Move Ghana Forward
Chiefs and Farmers in Brong Ahafo Region have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with policy makers in a bid to address challenges facing the agricultural sector and identify ways in which each partner’s role complements the other. The MoU was signed at a forum organized by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) to discuss measures to increase agricultural productivity in the region and the country as a general. Brong Ahafo Region is touted as a breadbasket of the country and contributes a greater percentage to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Farmers Exposed to High Yielding Farming Practices
About 50 farmers in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region have benefited from a field experimental work designed to help them increase farm yields and crop variety production as part of efforts to eradicate poverty. The initiative by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, through its Africa Rising Project, exposed the farmers to inter-cropping, high yielding-crop varieties, the importance of some crops, and the best application of fertilizers on specific crops for high-yield harvests. The field trial at Goli in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, involved experimentation with maize, roselle, sesame, cowpea and pigeon pea in different permutations to find out how best to maximize land use and land space. It also examined the number of rounds of spraying with pesticides…
The Political Double Standards on Biotech in Agric
Politicians in Africa have been urged to stop playing double standards when it comes to the adoption of biotechnology in food production on the continent. A lecturer at the Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Dr Dorothy M. Masinde, who bluntly made the call said the food situation on the continent presently is not the best and considering the growth in population, there is the need for politicians, particularly those holding power, to help propagate the impact of biotechnology on food production to ensure its fullest acceptance by the public … she said “it has become the practice of politicians in government to shift the goalpost from supporting biotech in food production when they are faced with opposition because they fear they might lose elections”.
ADB Supports 'Invest in Africa
Invest in Africa (IIA), a private sector initiative to develop local enterprises, has secured the partnership of African Development Bank (AfDB) to train 150 small and medium enterprises in Ghana to enable them to secure contracts with multinationals operating in the country or Africa. The SMEs are those prequalified and approved by the Africa Partner Pool (APP), an online directory of credible Ghanaian businesses from across sectors by IIA, to match them with multinationals/big companies to facilitate transactions among them. The APP Manager, Mr. Benjamin Yaw Manu, who disclosed this to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS after the launch of the platform, said the initiative as well as the training and mentoring associated would prepare local SME adequately to participate competitively in…..
US National Farmers Union President Visits Ghanaian Farmers
The National Farmers’ Union of America President, Mr. Roger Johnson, will visit Ghana to share farming experience with farmers at this year’s National Food and Agriculture Show (FAGRO) slated for November 12 in Kumasi. National Farmers’ Union of America President, Mr. Roger Johnson National Farmers’ Union of America President, Mr. Roger Johnson Mr. Johnson will make a presentation to energize Ghanaian farmers to reposition themselves in the farming business to increase yields towards food security. The General Manager of FAGRO, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, told the GNA in an interview that Mr. Johnson had a wealth of experience in farming. She said he would seek to hammer the need for the, farmers and the youth to change their attitude to farming and see it as the …
Climate Scientists Call for Global Response
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would adopt and present a Synthesis of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) marking a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change. The report was a consensus reached on the latest authoritative science behind climate change impacts, risks and opportunities for response, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). This comes weeks ahead of the UNFCCC climate talks in Lima, where negotiators will endeavor to broker an ambitious post-2015 climate agreement. The report offers conclusive scientific evidence that human activities continue to cause unprecedented changes in the Earth’s climate with the conclusion that we need to elevate the level of political…
Ghana Benefits from Programme on Climate Change
A Regional Programme on Sustainable land Management and Climate Change aimed at supporting 17- member ECOWAS countries has been launched in the Upper East Region. The project which is to be implemented by the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel Region would benefit the Talensi, Nabdam and the Bawku West districts of the region. It would among other things empower communities in the beneficiary Districts to undertake activities including river bank protection, rehabilitation of dams, dugouts, compost production , stone bonding, nursery establishment and provide support for them to go into livestock production…. farmers’ activities along water bodies as some of the negative activities affecting the buffer zones.
Stakeholders Urged to Include Journalists in Climate Change Deliberations
Dr. Winston Asante, Lecturer, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resource, KNUST, has called on stakeholders to include journalists in their deliberations on issues relating to Climate Change. This, he said, would enable them (journalists) to be well informed on matters relating to Climate Change and also enable them to adequate inform the public. Dr. Asante said this on Saturday at a two-day workshop organized by the BUSAC Fund, an advocacy NGO for some journalists in Kumasi on Climate Change. He said although the whole world including Ghana had started feeling the negative impacts of Climate Change, many people still did not believe in the realities of Climate Change. “Due to Climate Change, we have not been able to adequately predict the weather as we used to as the seasons…
Human Activities is the Main Cause of Land Degradation
The Upper East Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Asher Nkegbe, has observed that human activities accounted for the major causes of land degradation and desertification in the country. Speaking to the GNA in Bolgatanga on Tuesday, he explained that even though natural factors could be cited for the causes of the phenomenon, human activities were the major cause of the problem. Mr. Nkegbe cited human factors including indiscriminate bush burning, cutting down of trees for charcoal burning, overgrazing, unsustainable cultivation practices, overgrazing, improper use of agro-chemicals, and mining among others as some of the human activities that lead to land degradation and desertification.
Articles/Reports
Sustainable Cocoa Production in Ghana: a Case Study of Farmer Field School and Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
BM Dzomeku, IK Vifa, SK Agordorku - Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus (ACS), 2014
A study was conducted to gather empirical evidence on the effectiveness of Farmer Field School (FFS) and the strengths of the approach in imparting knowledge and empowering farmers. The study was conducted on a cocoa farm where all activities were carried out during Field School sessions for an entire cocoa cropping season. There were 49 participants in the school. The FFS farm was divided into three plots: the integrated crop and pest management (ICPM) plot, ICPM+ fertilizer and farmer practice (FP). Data were collected on the FFS graduates and analyzed. This study provides empirical evidence on four issues: the effectiveness of FFS training, the potential contribution of farmer–to–farmer diffusion, the positive change in farm management practices and the social impact of child labour and school enrolment. The results confirm the power of discovery learning and that farmers from the FFS were better informed than those without FFS training. FFS provided farmers with new
Agrotourism Development in Ghana: A Study of its Prospects and Challenges at Adjeikrom Cocoa Tour Facility
G Eshun, C Tettey - Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, 2014
Literature depicts agrotourism as a tool for environmental conservation and rural development. Nonetheless, there is a glaring lacuna in literature concerning agrotourism research from Western Africa. This paper seeks contribute towards filling this gap in literature. The paper investigates current situation agrotourism at Adjeikrom in Ghana, the challenges facing Adjeikrom Cocoa Farm Tour Facility, the opportunities Adjeikrom offers as an agrotourism destination and the role of agrotourism in the socio-economic development of the people of Adjeikrom. Fifty questionnaires were administered to purposively selected residents from Adjeikrom, alongside interviews with the management of the agrotourism facility
Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Small Holder Maize Growing Farmers of Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, Ethiopia: A Stochastic Frontier Approach
GM Kitila, BA Alemu - 2014
The objective of this study was to examine the level of technical efficiency of smallholder maize producers and identify its determinants in Horo Guduru Wollega zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. A Cobb-Douglass stochastic production function model was used for the analysis. To specify technical inefficiency effects of socioeconomic variables, Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) technique using data collected from 120 randomly selected sample farmers in 2011 was applied. The MLE results reveal that farm size under maize cultivation, chemical fertilizer (DAP) and maize seed are the major factors that are associated with changes in the maize output. The effect of land area on output is positive and the coefficient is found to be significant, implying the economies of scale…
Promoting the Use of Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) in Rural Communities in Eastern Africa
BS Business - … on International Research on Food Security, 2014
Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is a tree widely grown throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Its exceptionally nutritious fruit has the potential to play an important role in family nutrition and food security in marginalized rural communities. In addition, baobab products have a growing market in Europe and the US, which offers income opportunities for baobab producers in Africa. Little is known about baobab trees, baobab products and markets in East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Sudan which gave reason to form the project BAOFRUIT…The results of the workshops include the urgent need to investigate the current contribution of baobab products to local diets, food security, income generation and the active promotion of baobab fruit as a beneficial foodstuff…
The Influence of Training Extension Workers on Farm Productivity: A Case Study of Agra- Nairobi County, Kenya
AM Maina - 2014
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) works to achieve a food secure and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based mechanisms on smallholder farmers. In implementation of its vision, AGRA has faced a multitude of challenges in empowering the community. This is because it seeks to empower farmers in diverse locations and with varying cultures. Extension workers at AGRA are therefore constantly equipped with skills to address such a multivariate society. One of the leading challenges for organizations in the current day has been developing and implementing effective training programs to enhance farm productivity, sustainability and development. This study therefore sought to establish the influence of training extension…