Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Kofi Annan Promotes Consumption of Sweet Potatoes
A former United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and his wife, Nane, are collaborating with the International Potato Centre (CIP) to intensify a campaign on the consumption of sweet potatoes to improve the health of women and children less than five years. The campaign, which is also intended to create wealth, is targeted at reaching at least 500,000 households in Ghana with resilient nutritious sweet potato by 2020. Mr. Annan addressed scientists at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) at Fumesua in the Ejisu-Juaben municipality last Friday as part of the campaign. The orange-fleshed sweet potato is said to be rich in beta carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A, which is critical to enhance children’s health and in reducing blindness.
Farmers Urged to Ignore Claims against GMOs
The Former Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof. Walter Sandow Alhassan, has called on Ghanaian farmers to ignore claims against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) by a section of the public. According to him, the groups kicking against the GMOs had no tangible evidence to prove its threat to humans. “They do not have scientific proof or knowledge to offer when it comes to GMOs technology,” he said at the 2014 launch of the biotechnology brief in Accra. Prof. Alhassan, who is the current Director of Biotechnology and Stewardship for Sustainable Agriculture in West Africa (BSSA), said the usage of the GMO seeds in the country was a matter of choice. “We should get away from this misinformation and try to see how we can revolutionize our agriculture and move with modern trends,” he said.
Public-Private Partnerships: A Strategic Action for Inclusive Agricultural Development
It would be very convenient if after a hard day’s work one could walk to a small shop in a community to buy freshly steamed ‘nkontomire’ packaged nicely at an affordable price. Or better still, a home-delivered nicely canned okro stew and all one has to do is heat it up for eating. Many agricultural commodities can be produced in abundance, processed, transported and effectively distributed within the communities to ensure easy access by consumers. However, the question to ask is, ‘Has Ghana’s agricultural sector developed enough to be transformed from a subsistence one into an agro-industrial production, and if not, what strategic action do we need?’ Public-private partnership arrangements are increasingly becoming a strategy for agricultural development in many sub-Saharan African countries. In Ghana, such arrangements can provide an opportunity for pro-poor agricultural development.
Women Farmers Key to Fighting Hunger
Marking International Women's Day 2015 (March 8th), leaders from the United Nations' three Rome-based food agencies gathered to remind the world that women farmers play a central role in achieving food and nutrition security. At the Rome event, leaders from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) shared testimonials of their innovative interventions that have empowered rural women, and in doing so have contributed to food security and nutrition. They also highlighted that promoting gender equality and women's empowerment can significantly strengthen efforts to reduce rural poverty. This year's event also marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 (Beijing +20).
Fertilizer Misuse on the Rise
Low farmer-extension service ratio and the activities of unregistered dealers in the fertiliser distribution chain who often lack knowledge on application to pass on to farmers, are promoting misuse of the product on farms. The situation, according to the Agric Ministry’s Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate, has negative implications for productivity and the health of consumers. For want of know-how, some of the farmers are said to apply very low levels of fertiliser, which reduces yield, while others apply excessive levels, which destroy the environment and also affect the health of consumers. In some cases, farmers whose yields drop because they applied low amounts of fertiliser decide to increase the application in their next planting period -- and they tend to do so excessively, explained Mr. Akai Christopher, Northern Regional Director of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD).
Government Committed to Fisheries Development -- Deputy Minister
Benita Okity Duah, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, has reiterated government’s commitment to support fisheries and aquaculture business in the country. Speaking at the opening of a two-day partnership meeting in Tamale under the theme “Programmatic support to the Community Development Centres and government agricultural policies,” Mrs. Duah said the sector holds a lot of potential for the teeming number of jobless young people, a reason government is scaling-up support. The meeting, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), was aimed at building partnerships among different development partners, agencies and government ministries at the communal level to address challenges confronting fisheries and aquaculture businesses. According to the Deputy Minister, government is supporting the production of some 100,000 tonnes of fish by next year to reduce importation.
New Programme to Replace Aging Cocoa Farmers to Begin
An incentive package to attract more youth into cocoa farming to replace aging farmers is to be introduced by government. The programme will form part of the many projects government is implementing to attract and retain the country’s youth in the cocoa farming business to help sustain the cocoa industry’s future in the country. Mr. Samuel Gyimah Gyemfi, Eastern Regional Manager of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) disclosed this at a cocoa farmers rally at Akyem Nkronso, near Kibi, which was attended by cocoa farmers from surrounding communities including Apedwa, AkyemAsafo, Akoko, Agyeponmaa and Boetey. Mr. Gyemfi urged the youth to form groups to take advantage of the package and change their fortunes. He announced that COCOBOD is gathering information on cocoa farmers and the acreage being cultivated by each farmer, as well as their produce, to be used as the basis for establishing a…
Government Urged to Pay Bonuses of Cocoa Farmers
Government has been urged to pay the annual bonuses cocoa farmers are entitled to, which has delayed for three consecutive years. Government has for three years, since 2011/12 to 2013/2014, paid a fixed producer price to cocoa farmers in the face of escalating prices in every facet of national life. “Given the world market price today, the current exchange rate of US$1 to GH₵3.50 as well as the government’s pledge to pay at least 70 percent of the free-on-board (FoB) price, the cocoa farmer should be paid not less than GH₵480 per bag.” Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader in Parliament said in Accra at a press conference dubbed “The True Message of the Present State of the Nation, 2015”. The GH₵5 bonus per bag of the produce announced recently by government was disgusting; as “by day” labour attracts between two and three times that amount. He said the current produce price will neither…
Reports/Articles
Impact Assessment of IFPRI’s Capacity-Strengthening Work, 1985–2010
A Kuyvenhoven - 2014
Strengthening national capacities for undertaking, communicating, and using evidence-based food policy analysis has long been one of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI’s) major objectives. To that end, IFPRI has engaged in different kinds of capacity strengthening that include formal training, (policy) networks, country strategic policy support, research collaboration with individuals and organizations, institutional development, support to university degree programs, visiting fellows, and training of postdoctoral fellows (PDFs). For the purposes of this study these activities are categorized as (1) collaborative research (CR) and outreach, (2) training, and (3) institutional development (ID). Capacity-building work is also delivered in a variety of ways and time frames, including via individual projects, country programs, regional networks, and thematic multicounty programs. Beneficiaries of capacity building are usually identified at the country and regional levels, because it is at those levels where IFPRI can best hope to influence policies, and where some of the social benefits may be captured.
A Systematic Mapping Protocol: What are the Impacts of Different Upstream Business Models in the Agriculture and Forestry Sector on Sustainable Development in Tropical Developing Countries?
G Schoneveld, F Di Matteo, F Brandao, P Pacheco… - Environmental Evidence, 2015
As a result of rising global food and energy insecurity, investors are increasingly seeking new opportunities in tropical developing countries endowed with comparatively cheap and abundant land resources. Predominantly targeting the agriculture and forestry sectors, these investments could make valuable contributions to the economies of developing countries. However, with most investors opting for plantation-oriented business models, in the context of weak governance regimes within many host countries, many fear that these investments may instead exacerbate socio-economic vulnerabilities and processes of environmental degradation. Therefore, there is a need to explore alternative upstream business models that are more inclusive of the poor and are more aligned with emergent green growth objectives.
Farmer Organizations and Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services: A Framework and Reflection on Cases from Sub-Saharan Africa
RJ Bingen, BM Simpson - 2015
The Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) discussion paper series is designed to further the comparative analysis of and learning from international extension efforts. The papers contain a review of extension and advisory services best practices drawn from the global body of experience in successfully reaching resource-limited farmers. The papers identify the underlying principles associated with high levels of success in reaching women and men farmers and how, in differing contexts, these core principles have been successfully adapted to fit local conditions in establishing productive, profitable and sustainable relationships with individual producers, producer groups, the private sector, and associated research and education institutions. The series includes papers on a wide range of topics, such as the realities of pluralistic extension provisioning, sustainable financing, the role of farmer ….
Feeding 9 billion by 2050 – Putting Fish Back on the Menu
C Béné, M Barange, R Subasinghe… - Food Security, 2015
Fish provides more than 4.5 billion people with at least 15 % of their average per capita intake of animal protein. Fish’s unique nutritional properties make it also essential to the health of billions of consumers in both developed and developing countries. Fish is one of the most efficient converters of feed into high quality food and its carbon footprint is lower compared to other animal production systems. Through fish-related activities (fisheries and aquaculture but also processing and trading), fish contribute substantially to the income and therefore to the indirect food security of more than 10 % of the world population, essentially in developing and emergent countries. Yet, limited attention has been given so far to fish as a key element in food security and nutrition strategies at national level and in wider development discussions and interventions. As a result, the tremendous potential for improving food security and nutrition embodied in the strengthening of the fishery and aquaculture sectors is missed. The purpose of this paper is to make a case for a closer integration of fish into the overall debate and future policy about food…
The Profitability Analysis and Perceived 4 Constraints of Farmers in Pineapple Production 5 in Edo State, Nigeria
LO Akhilomen, GM Bivan, SA Rahman, SA Sanni - … of Experimental Agriculture, 2015
This study examined the profitability and farmers’ perceived constraints in pineapple production in Edo State, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire and interview schedules were used to collect data from 175 pineapple farmers who were selected through a multi-stage sampling technique during the 2012/2013 cropping season. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics and gross margin analysis. The results indicated that 76% of the farmers were males, aged 50 years on average, were mostly married (95%) with a mean household size of 7 people and engaged full time in agricultural production. The respondents were fairly educated with 86% of them having attained some… However, a number of constraints, such as inadequate credit facilities, weather and disease, poor network of roads, high transportation cost, lack of land & herbicides and poor extension services were perceived by farmers to hinder pineapple production in the study area…
* The GSSP News Digest just summarizes of what is reported in the press. Any errors of fact or omission is not IFPRI’s responsibility.*