Below are some current developments on Agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
President Announces 450-million-dollar Package for Cocoa Roads Rehabilitation
President John Dramani Mahama has announced a 450-million-dollar package for the rehabilitation of roads in cocoa-growing areas in the country. He said, the amount, to be released in three installments of 150 million dollars annually, would be used to finance selected roads in the Ashanti, Western, Eastern and Brong-Ahafo Regions, under the Cocoa Roads Rehabilitation Project being funded through the Ghana COCOBOD. President Mahama made the announcement at a grand durbar to climax the Dormaa Kwafie Festival and the 15th joint anniversary celebration of the enstoolment of Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu the Second, and Odeneho Akosua Fima Dwabeng the Second, as Paramount Chief and Queen respectively of the Dormaa Traditional Area, at Dormaa-Ahenkro. The Kwafie biennial festival was last celebrated by the chiefs and people of Dormaa in 2002, and it is an occasion to bring….
2,500 Farmers Benefit from SARI
More than 2,500 farmers in the Northern and Upper West Regions benefited from the activities of the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) between 2013 and 2014. Dr Stephen Kwasi Nutsugah, Director of SARI announced this at Nyankpala at the opening of a four-day completion workshop of ENRACCA-WA project under the auspices of the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) and hosted by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-SARI. The programme brought together participants from Ghana, Senegal and Burkina-Faso. Dr Nutsugah said CSIR-SARI had been a beneficiary of four major CORAF/WECARD projects in the Northern Region since 2011 including the research programme on Climate Change, Agriculture for food security for ENRACCA-WA project, which helped in the improvement of lives.
Government Unable to Roll out Fertiliser Subsidy Programme
The Government has said it could not roll out the national fertiliser subsidy programme for the 2014 cropping season. This, according to Mr. Fiifi Kwetey, Minister for Food and Agriculture, was because the Government had not been able to pay the fertiliser companies a total of GH¢ 64 million being subsidies on fertilisers they distributed in 2013. Mr. Kwetey was answering questions pertaining to the agricultural sector on the floor of the House, in Accra….“The fertiliser companies have indicated that with this amount outstanding, they could not continue with the subsidy programme for the 2014 cropping season,” he said … “It is gratifying to note that even though the national fertiliser subsidy programme was not rolled out because of the afore-mentioned reason, there were targeted fertiliser subsidies for rice production in 2014 season.”
Farmers Embrace New Fertiliser Technique
Rice farmers in Dadome, near Adidome, have embraced a new fertiliser application technology which is helping them to save cost while enhancing yield. The Urea Deep Placement (UDP) technology of fertiliser application involves the placement of super granule fertilisers known as briquettes near the root zone, in between four plants, that allows the fertiliser to deliver more nutrients to the plant throughout the growth cycle….“These blanket fertiliser recommendations concentrate on the macronutrients – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and usually do not include the secondary nutrients – sulphur, magnesium and calcium, nor micronutrients, zinc, copper, manganese, iron, boron and molybdenum,” Dr Debrah explained.
Agric Budget to Stifle Crop Production
Peasant farmers in Ghana have criticised the 2015 budgetary allocation made to the agriculture sector, describing it as inadequate and with the potential to stifle the crop production sub-sector. After careful analysis of the 2015 budget statement, the farmers observed that “ the 2015 budget has no prospects for crop production in the country. The allocation is inadequate to implement the planned programme for 2015. The agric sector is completely being underfunded.” These and other observations were made in Accra yesterday at a civil society 2015 agricultural budget analysis workshop jointly organised by the Peasant Farmers Association Ghana (PFAG) and SEND-Ghana. It was financially supported by Oxfam and OSIWA.
Food Security at Risk: "Ghc411 Million Agric Budget Not Enough"
Send-Ghana criticised government's Ghc411 million planned spending on the agricultural sector next year, describing it as "inadequate" to guarantee food security in the country. The policy research and social enterprise advocacy think-tank argues that resources allocated to the agric sector are "simply not enough" to turn around fortunes of the dominant economic sector in terms of increase in food production and economic empowerment of smallholder farmers who depend on the sector for their livelihood. The Programme Officer of SEND-Ghana, Daniel Adotey Akai, explained to B&FT that the budgeted amount is far below expectations compared to the national medium-term expenditure framework for the agricultural sector, and that it poses a serious threat to food security and nutrition.
Shai-Osudoku Hosts Agriculture Policy Education
Mr Festus Kwadwokpo, Capacity Building Coordinator at USAID Ghana, has urged stakeholders in the agriculture sector to engage government with evidence-based advocacy on ways to improve agriculture. He said evidence-based advocacy would help make government provide the enabling environment for private sector involvement, such as liaising with traditional leaders to demarcate lands for farming or improve road and irrigation networks. He was speaking at an agriculture policy education and sensitisation forum in the Shai-Osudoku District organised by USAID under its Feed the Future- Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP) and in collaboration with the district coordinating council and the Department of Agriculture. It was on the theme: “Strengthening mutual accountability in the agriculture policy process.”
Stakeholders Meet to Deepen Interest in Potatoes
Stakeholders in orange flesh sweet potatoes (OFSP) promotion met in Bolgatanga to deepen farmers’ interest in cultivation and utilization of the crop as a way of making it a choice crop for sustainable food security in Northern Ghana. The review conference was organized by TRAX Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Bolgatanga, in collaboration with its donor partners, Self Help Africa (SHA), International Potato Center (CIP) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (SARI) with participants from Togo and Burkina Faso. The conference attracted entrepreneurs in the OFSP value chain, who made pastries, food and drinks from the product, to schools, health workers and farmers. Mr. Vincent Subbey, who gave an overview of the project, said it had objectives to alleviate vitamin deficiency among young children, pregnant and lactating mothers.
Stop the Degradation
Nana Poku Bosompem, Nkawie District Manager of Forest Services Division (FSD), Forestry Commission, has appealed to forest fringe communities to stop the plundering of forest and its resources. He said they needed to take responsibility and act boldly to expose those engaged in illegal timber activities. It was in everybody’s interest, he said, that the reserves and the natural vegetative cover were protected and maintained. He was addressing a stakeholders’ meeting at Nkawie in the Atwima-Nwabiagya District. Representatives of the District Assembly, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Judicial Service, the Police, Immigration Service, Fire Service and timber companies attended the meeting.
All should Work to Protect Forest Resources
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osa Mills, has urged all to get to work to protect the natural resources and promote their sustainable management. He expressed concern about the alarming rate at which the nation was losing its forest cover and said that could not be allowed to continue. Ghana reportedly loses an average of 125,400 hectares or 1.6 per cent of its forest every year, thus posing a serious threat to wildlife. Nii Osa Mills, said this should not only become a source of worry to everybody but galvanize all stakeholders to take decisive action. These were contained in an address read for him at the inauguration of an 11-member committee to regulate human activities in the Bosomtwe Lake Basin at Ankaase in the Bosome-Freho District. The formation of the committee, spearheaded by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, comes amid depletion of the fish stock and pollution…
“Birim Central is Self-sufficient in Food”-Ahiamatah
Mr. Francis Ahiamatah, Management Information Services Officer of the Birim Central Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), has promised that the Municipality was self-sufficient in food production this year. He indicated that, food production for the year was better than last year, adding “We do not have any food challenge.” Mr. Ahiamatah was interacting with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Akyem Oda. “Prices of food crops have not risen for the past three years, with cassava price even dropping by 20 percent”. Mr. Ahiamatah mentioned some major challenges facing farmers in the area, as high cost of fertilizer, high cost of labour, poor road network to the farms , unpredictable rainfall, and soil erosion among others.
Reports/Articles
Influence of Government’s Farm Subsidies Related Factors on Food Security in East Karachuonyo Division, Homabay County, Kenya.
DA Onyango - 2014
The agricultural sector is a significant element of the economies of many countries and which contributes to the realization of major development milestones. According to a report by United Nations’ World Summit on Sustainable Development on Food Security, poverty eradication, agriculture and food security have moved to the center stage of global development agenda. The international community, at a World Summit on Food Security held in Johannesburg in 2002, reaffirmed its commitment to develop national and local programmes for sustainable development, poverty eradication and food security (UNDP, 2002)…. This study therefore examined the influence of farm subsidies related factors on food security in East Karachonyo Division, Homa-Bay County. The study was guided by the following objectives; determining how access to information of the subsidy programme, training of farmers on the use of subsidies, provision of inputs and the extent to which time of distribution influence the use of the government’s farm subsidies and their effect on food security.
Is Ghana’s Pro-poor Health Insurance Scheme really for the Poor? Evidence from Northern Ghana
J Akazili, P Welaga, A Bawah, FS Achana, A Oduro… - BMC Health Services …, 2014
Protecting the poor and vulnerable against the cost of unforeseen ill health has become a global concern culminating in the 2005 World Health Assembly resolution urging member states to ensure financial protection to all citizens, especially children and women of reproductive age. Ghana provides financial protection to its citizens through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Launched in 2004, its proponents claim that the NHIS is a pro-poor financial commitment that implements the World Health Assembly resolution. Using 2011 survey data collected in seven districts in northern Ghana from 5,469 women aged 15 to 49 the paper explores the extent to which poor child-bearing age mothers are covered by the NHIS in Ghana’s poorest and most remote region…. Results from the analysis showed that 33.9 percent of women in the lowest SES quintile compared to 58.3 percent for those in the highest quintile were insured. About 60 percent of respondents were registered. However, only 40 percent had valid insurance cards indicating that over 20 percent of the registered respondents did not have insurance cards.
The Role of Women in Community Based Resource Management on the Afadjato Mountain Ecosystem, Ghana
ED Wiafe, FS Arku - Applied Research Journal, 2014
This paper provides an insight into the involvement of women in management and utilization of natural mountain resources. The study depended on semi-structured guided interviews to obtain the required information from 100 women at Mount Afadjato in the Volta region of Ghana. The study revealed that most of the women interviewed contributed to the development of the resources to ensure their sustainable utilization. They harvested a variety of resources from the mountain ecosystem that vary from food, materials to amenities. Though men generally did not resist women harvesting the resources from the mountain, some of the men competed with the women by harvesting resources that were meant traditionally for women or assisted other women. The women mentioned some constraints in course of utilizing the resources such as difficulty in climbing, lack of environmental management personnel and public education. Massive environmental resource management education is recommended for the communities living in the mountainous area.
Smallholder Sugarcane Farmers’ Perception of the Effect of Micro Agricultural Finance Institution of South Africa on Livelihood Outcomes in Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province
PS Gininda, MA Antwi, OI Oladele - Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
This paper examined smallholder sugarcane farmers’ perception of the effect of Micro Agricultural Finance Institution of South Africa (MAFISA) on livelihood outcomes in Nkomazi local municipality of Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga province. A sample of 77 smallholder sugarcane farmers was selected randomly from a population of 95. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22. The results show that constraints faced by smallholder sugarcane farmers were high level of land scarcity, low level of being exposed to drought…Significant determinants of net income were age (t = -3.497, p < 0.10); marital status (t = -3.273, p < 0.10); type of training (t = -3.433, p < 0.10); farm expenses (t = 4.895, p < 0.01); loan for farming purposes (t = -2.959, p < 0.10) and frequency of meeting with extension personnel (t = 2.079, p < 0.05)….
Exploring Gaps Associated with Gender Empowerment in Selected African Countries
SM Kang'ethe, SY Chivanga - Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
Incontrovertibly, gender empowerment process continues to suffer immense gaps that if not timeously addressed can impede most countries to make significant scores in the 2015 Millennium Development Goal number three. The aim of this article is, through literature review methodology, to explore gaps associated with gender empowerment. Findings indicate the following factors that underpin gender empowerment process: Inadequate political participation; high rate of women unemployment; gender skewed health policies; cultural factors; women’s inferiority complex; few women in managerial positions; countries meagre resources to invest in gender empowerment process; and increased cases of domestic violence. The article recommends: mainstreaming gender equality and equity policies; women to be united and stand for their rights; closing of the gender parity gap and working to make cultures both gender neutral and gender sensitive.