Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Shea butter Industry Offers Employment to African Women
Shea butter is one of nature's wonders, and a special one at that. It has been used for millennia by many generations of African people for skincare, baby care, healing and food. The shea butter industry employs about 10 million women in rural communities in 21 countries across Africa, contributing to the economic growth of the respective countries. In Ghana, the shea nuts are traditionally harvested mainly by women in the northern part of the country, crushed and boiled to extract the shea butter. In the hot Sahara or Savannah, shea butter protects the skin from the sun and dehydration. What makes shea butter an extraordinary skincare product and an amazing body healer is its richness in precious constituents, which include unsaturated fats….
Post-harvest Losses High – Study
Almost half of food crops produced in the country does not make it to the final consumer, a study on post-harvest losses in the country has revealed. The research sponsored by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) was conducted in 2013 by The Urban Association Limited (TUAL) on post-harvest losses of selected food crops in 11 African countries. According to the report, as much as 60 percent of Yam produced in Ghana, for instance, does not make it to the consumer. The study said the level of losses occurring in maize production, for instance, ranges between 5-70 percent while between 11-27 percent of rice cultivated never makes it to the consumer.
‘See Farming as a Business Venture’
The Director of the Food Research Institute (FRI) Mr. Manam Tay Dziedzoave has advised that farmlands should be managed as a business enterprise and not as a pastime project in the interest of food security, income maximization and job-creation. Speaking at a stakeholder lesson-learning workshop for actors in the root and tuber crops production value chain organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)in Accra, he said it is by doing this that farmers can deploy best farming practices to increase their gains from the sector. “It is important that people see farming as business venture in order to become more productive, to generate more income and create employment; but on the contrary, there is this general lack of business-sense among farmers because of the wrong notion ….
Peasant Farmers Association Of Ghana State Position On Plant Breeders Bill
The President of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Mr. Abdul-Rahaman Mohammed, has urged Parliament not to compromise on food sovereignty and the livelihoods of small holder farmers in favour of transnational seed and fertilizer companies. Addressing the media in Accra, yesterday Mr. Mohammed said the Plant Breeder’s Bill endorsed Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the agricultural sector against time tested conventional seeds produced by farmers and hardworking scientist at CSIR. He said the Plant Breeder’s Bill in its current form did not factor in possible political, economic, socio-cultural and health implications of the bill to citizens, adding that the risk was a loss or disappearance of local/indigenous seeds and the complete take-over of the seed industry by commercial plant breeders.
Small Scale Rice Dealers Appeal to Ministry
Members of Small Scale Rice Dealers Association of Ghana (SSRIDA-GH), have drawn the attention of the Trade Ministry to the negative impact the ban on inland rice importation has brought to traders. “The Ministry of Trade and Industry on October 14, 2013 served a notice of ban on inland importation of rice stating that ‘with effect from November 1, 2013”, all imports of rice shall be done through only the Kotoka International Airport, Tema and Takoradi Ports, meaning our only means of transport would have to be either through the air or by sea…“We humbly wish to state that our business is only a threat to the monopoly being practiced by foreign rice importers, whose activities are a threat to the nation`s economy because they do the importation under the cover of ....
Private Sector Gets Conscious of Climate Change Developments
Climate Change has been identified as one of the major challenges to sustainable growth and development in developing economies like Ghana. Businesses are as vulnerable as local communities to the negative effects of the changing climate – extreme weather conditions affect food production, forests and human health which have implication for businesses. The Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund has over the years provided grants for the private sector to undertake advocacy actions to contribute to the improvement in the business environment…Beneficiary grantees are supported in the areas bush fire burning, cutting of economic trees and renewable energy sources.
Export to European Union not an Easy Walk
Mr. Ignacio Burrull, Head of Cooperation of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Ghana, has urged exporters to understand the required rules and standards and ensure compliance as exporting to the EU market is not an easy walk. "Any company in Ghana that wants to export to the EU should not only understand the rules and standards required and ensure compliance, but at the same time will have to provide evidence of such compliance." Mr. Burrull, who was addressing the Steering Committee members of the Trade Related Assistance and Quality-Enabling Programme at a meeting in Accra, said consumer protection is as much an issue in Ghana as it is in the EU, and all consumers should enjoy the same level of protection.
TUC Culinary Heritage, Ghana Launched In Accra
Culinary Heritage (CH), Ghana, a subsidiary of the informal sectors of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) was, yesterday, launched in Accra. The groups, trained in Nutritional Hygiene and Networking in their operations, are made up of chop bar operators from Osu, Circle, Agbogbloshie, Kaneshie, Police Headquarters, Mamprobi, Town Council Line and Adabraka. Speaking at the launch, the Director in-charge of the Catering Training Institute of the Ministry of Tourism and the Creative Arts, Mrs. Judith Abase, said the nation had come this far to understand the need for the exposure of Ghanaian cultural values…
UNDP Pleased with Restoration of Weto Range
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has expressed satisfaction at the restoration and conservation of the Weto Range in the Volta Region. The Range is described as a biodiversity ‘hotspot’ for Ghana with potentials of promoting eco-tourism and helping sustain the country’s economy. Mr. Bossman Owusu, UNDP Communication Analyst, in an interaction with some representatives of groups working to restore the Range at Bame, near Ho, said his outfit was happy the Range now had wide and thick forests with communities along it enjoying harmony with nature… Mr. Odonkor explained that the livelihood projects encouraged the locals to resist activities, which degraded the Range. He said the project was promoting organic farming in the areas with animal droppings being used as manure and the bees helping in the pollination of crops and plants.
Programme Launched to Make Market Work for Farmers
The Market Development Programme (MADE), a non-governmental organisation, is focusing on how to make markets to work for smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. The NGO is implementing the programme to make the market work for farmers to move away from the initial lower production levels to higher production levels such that the farmers would make more incomes that would help reduce poverty. The programme targets 77,000 farmers and small scale entrepreneurs out of which 15 percent are women for them to record positive change in annual real incomes and ensuring agricultural yields in projected areas and across the six selected sectors. MADE is focusing on high rice, groundnuts, onions, chili (pepper) fruits and vegetables production as well as improvement in livestock including goats, sheep and cattle rearing.
EPA Urged to Collaborate with Research Institutions
Mr. Akwasi Opong-Fosu, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collaborate effectively with research institutions and academia to develop a sound science programme for the agency. He said the agency must balance its result oriented programmes with problem-driven research to solve current environmental problems of high risk, as well as improve scientific foundation for understanding and protecting human health and the environment. Mr. Oppong-Fosu said this on Tuesday in Accra at a three-day scientific forum organized by EPA as part of its 40th anniversary. The forum was under the theme: “Environment Protection Agency at 40: The Environment We Want-The Way Forward”.
Healthy Kids Programme has Increased Knowledge
The knowledge of school children about nutrition and health has increased, the first monitoring and evaluation report of the Nutrition and Food Science Department of the University of Ghana has said. The monitoring and evaluation also assessed the children’s knowledge in hygiene and sanitary practices as well as behavioral change in the implementing schools. The programme, dubbed “Nestlé Healthy Kids” is a global programme, which aims to raise awareness about nutrition, health and wellness, and promote physical activity among school children around the world through better eating, healthy hydration, greater physical activity or other key health measures such as hygiene…It started on a pilot basis in 2011 in selected cocoa growing districts of Juaboso and Agona East in the Western and Central regions, respectively, and was expanded to cover Savelugu-Nanton, Kwahu North, Afram Plains and Adansi South/North in the Northern, Eastern and Ashanti regions respectively, in 2013.
Reports/Articles
Economics of Tractor Ownership under Rainfed Agriculture with Applications in Ghana
N Houssou, X Diao, S Kolavalli - 2014
This paper assesses whether tractor investment is a rational and profitable decision for farmers using firm investment theory and tractor owner survey data collected in 2013. Under erratic rainfalls, timeliness of farming operations is critical for farmers. Based on the hypothesis that owning a tractor and hiring tractor services are not necessarily perfect substitutes for farmers with relatively large farm sizes, this paper assesses whether mechanization services can be profitable for the private sector in Ghana. It particularly addresses whether farmer-to-farmer service provision is a viable alternative to current programs, which should be promoted by policymakers for scaling up agricultural mechanization in the country. This paper suggests that owning a tractor for service provision alone, as in the Agricultural Mechanization Service Enterprise Center (AMSEC) model, is unlikely to be viable…
Smallholder Cocoa Farmers Access to On/Off-Farm Support Services and its Contribution to Output in the Eastern Region of Ghana
JA Onumah, PA Williams, W Quaye, M Akuffobea… - Asian Journal of Agriculture …, 2014
It has been established that smallholder farmers have minimal access to various support services that would have otherwise enabled them to increase their output levels. The focus of this paper is to identify and quantify the impact of various support services on the production levels of cocoa in the Eastern region of Ghana. A cross sectional survey of 190 cocoa farmers was obtained using a two-stage sampling technique (purposive and random). Descriptive statistics and an OLS regression model were used to analyse and discuss the results of the study. The various support services identified included labour services, financial services, technical assistance, farmer group support services, Research and Development (R&D) institutional support services, extension services and input support services. The services that significantly influenced output levels of cocoa were extension services, labour supply and technical assistance, among other variables including farm size and…
Technical Efficiency Analysis of Cassava Production in Nigeria; Implication for Increased Productivity and Competitiveness
O Taiwo, OS Dayo, KO Bolariwa - Research Journal of Agriculture and Environmental …, 2014
Despite the fact that Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the whole world, production lags behind the increasing local demand for food and industrial usage, and cassava products are not price competitive in the global market. This paper uses stochastic production frontier approach to examine resource use efficiency of cassava farmers in order to provide empirical guide to competitive cassava production in Nigeria. Production function exhibits constant return to scale and technical efficiency can be improved by as much as 10 percent. Policy suggestions for technical change and outward shift in production function for competitive cassava production are provided.
Assessment of Value Addition in Rice Production and Processing In Adani In Uzouwani Local Government Area Of Enugu State, Nigeria
JN Ugwu, MN Mgbakor, CC Chitor - 2014
The broad objective of this project work is to assess the effect of value addition in the production and processing of rice in Adani n Uzouwani Local Government Area of Enugu State. The specific objectives of this work is to assess the general profitability involved in value addition in rice production and processing. Multi-stage sampling techniques was used to collect primary data via oral and written questionnaires together with personal observation and empirical knowledge of the research environment. The data were collected with regard to the respondents' socioeconomic situation, factors that affect value addition in the area, the major constraints to value added production and processing, the level of technology available to the respondents and general profitability associated…
Climate Variability and Food Security in Africa: The Case of Small Pelagic Fish in West Africa
P Failler - J Fisheries Livest Prod, 2014
The paper presents an analysis of the changes in fishing practices in West Africa both by national and foreign vessels and in trade patterns, as well as on the way in which these affect the economic and nutritional patterns of the Western and Central African countries, especially when climate variability is taken into account. Projections for the next decade indicate an increasing gap between estimated demand and supply under all scenarios elaborated. The more optimistic scenario shows that when environmental conditions are favourable, future fish supply cannot fulfil a growing population demand if per capita consumption remains at 2012 level. When environmental conditions are unfavourable, the supply-demand gap could rise to 1.8 million tonnes. However, even the best environmental conditions will not be able to satisfy the demand if the fish consumption per capita increases and the gap will progressively grow with time reaching 2.9 million tonnes in 2025…