Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Shea not Supporting Sustainable Poverty Reduction – ISSER
A research by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana has suggested that the shea industry in its current form cannot be a means for sustainable poverty reduction as shea-nut pickers do not make meaningful profits. The research, which was released at a workshop on agricultural cash crops and global trade, organized by ISSER in Tamale, said shea-nut pickers were able to pick approximately 2.5 bags per season, which cost GH¢112.5, far below the country’s per capita income of 1,858 dollars. It said there was need for government and all actors to commit resources into sustaining the shea sector to enable it to take advantage of the growing demand for shea in the confectionary and locally hand-made shea butter in the cosmetics industries. It was conducted as part of a project dubbed: “Peasants Autonomy and Capture in Times of Increasing Integration of Global Food Markets” being implemented by ISSER and the Volkswagen Foundation, in collaboration with the Centre for Research Development, Germany since 2012.
Oil Palm Farmers Laud Solidaridad’s Support
Oil Palm farmers in Tarkwa and surrounding areas have hailed the contributions of Solidaridad to the boosting of their yields and for the renewed interest in the cultivation of the crop. Solidaridad West Africa, not-for-profit organization that supports the sustainable development of farmers and production systems, started providing technical support to farmers in Tarkwa and surrounding areas in the Western Region, about two years ago. “Two years ago, I almost sold my farm because of poor yields,” Mr. Kwame Adentwi of Obeyeyie farms told the GNA on his farm after an outreach programme. “But I changed my mind when I attended a course in Cape Coast organized by Solidaridad. I’ve never regretted doing so because now I am making good money,” he added. Mr. Adentwi said the surprising element in all the support that Solidaridad provides is that it is free of charge to the farmer. The support, which is under the Sustainable West Africa Oil Palm Programme (SWAPP), is funded by the Dutch Government. SWAPP’s goal is to increase the productivity and profitability of small and medium scale enterprises with …
Feeding Ghana’s Future: Increased Financial Support for Women Farmers can make the Difference
Ghana met Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 of reducing the proportion of undernourished people from 27 per cent in 1990 to 5 per cent in 2007 - the lowest proportion in sub-Saharan African countries - which makes Ghana an African success story in the reduction of poverty and hunger. Indeed, Ghana has produced a range of policy documents and action plans to guide its agricultural development and spending, an example of which is the Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP I & II) - FASDEP II being the current policy document for the development of the agricultural sector - the implementation of which, over the medium term, is outlined in the Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP), 2011-2015. These notwithstanding, major challenges exist, particularly for smallholder farmers in the country who record low productivity, rely on the rains and simple tools for farming and have little access to extension services, credit and markets.
Fight against Climate Change is a Moral Obligation – Germany
The fight against climate change is a moral obligation for the current generation who would hand over to the next generation, Dr Barbara Hendricks, Federal Environment Minister of Germany said on Monday. Speaking at the opening of the sixth Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Dr Hendricks said climate action is not a luxury but an obligation and that there is the need to establish a fair means of climate funding that would be fair to the poor and vulnerable countries. “We need a fair means of climate funding that must be fair to the poor and vulnerable countries,” she said, adding, climate funding would be one of the important issues of discussions at the dialogue. The theme for the three-day meeting is: “Reaching for the Paris outcome.” The Petersberg Climate Dialogue which is being co-hosted by the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius is aimed at identifying the remaining challenges of climate change and bringing concrete possibilities for action to light, ahead to the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP21) scheduled for Paris in December….
UG signs $2.9m Agreement with USAID to Improve Agriculture Research
Agriculture experts at the University of Ghana say the country will encounter challenges with food security by 2050 if new food security crops are not developed. To prevent this danger, the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and the School of Agriculture sought a $2.9m assistance to facilitate research into new crops. At the signing ceremony in Accra, the Acting Country Director, USAID Ghana, Andrew Kara said Africa's food security drive will be a mirage if innovations in agricultural research and growth are relegated. He added that response to local needs and increase in broad base economic growth can only be realized if the approach towards agriculture becomes aggressive.
Farmers, Fishermen Hail ADB Decision
Some farmers and fishermen have hailed the decision by the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange to raise the needed funds to recapitalize the bank. At a stakeholders' consultation in Accra yesterday, they said the move would enable the bank to support the agricultural sector of the economy and urged it to go ahead with its intended initial public offer (IPO) geared towards raising about GHc300 million to fund growth and revamp the operations of the bank to make it more competitive. “We think this bank needs to be strengthened. We have come to a consensus that we have to support the bank to be able to achieve its aim.” “We hope that management will do its best to ensure that all the difficulties or bottlenecks are removed and all that is needed to be done is done to make sure this IPO process goes through smoothly,” Mr. Philip Abayori,
Addressing the Challenges of Food Security and Climate Change
Addressing the Challenges of Food Security and Climate Change through the FMNR Technology… “Our crops yields have increased tremendously than before due to the adoption of the FMNR technology. Look, now our animals are also fatter than before and we are able to get good sales from them than before due to the availability of fodder for them to feed on. Many people are now going into animal rearing and this is leading to the improvement of the wellbeing of families particularly our children than before. Again we are able to get medicinal plants from the FMNR. We able to thatch f to roof our houses and medicinal plants” We thank World Vision Ghana for that. ”, Mr. Samuel Batan, the Secretary of the FMNR of Yameriga told the 12 Member team from East Africa who have head of the good results of the FMNR and visited the WVG Talensi Area Development Programme to learn the technology .
Ghana's Women Farmers Resist the G7 Plan to Grab Africa's Seeds
Sharing and saving seed is a crucial part of traditional farming all over Africa, writes Heidi Chow. Maybe that's why governments, backed by multinational seed companies, are imposing oppressive seed laws that attack the continent's main food producers and open the way to industrial agribusiness. But Ghana's women farmers are having none of it. "My mother gave me some seeds to plant. And I'm also giving those seeds to my children to plant. "So that is ongoing, every time we transfer to our children. And that is how all the women are doing it. We don't buy, we produce it ourselves." Sitting together in the heat of the Ghanaian sun, Esther Boakye Yiadom explained to me the importance of seeds in her family and the transfer of knowledge between the different generations of women. Esther continues to explain the role of the community in sharing and preserving seeds: "I am having tomatoes and I don't have okro. And another woman has okro. I'll go to her and then beg for some of her okro seeds to plant….
Agricultural Extension Policy Review Forum Held
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), in collaboration with the Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) Project and the USAID/Ghana Feed the Future Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP), has held a two day Agricultural Extension policy review forum in Accra. The Forum created a platform for stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors to come together and share their experiences and expertise towards efforts at improving agriculture extension delivery in Ghana. Speaking at the forum in Accra, Deputy Director, DAES, Mr. Emmanuel Odame says the purpose of the Forum is to promote policy dialogue and conduct a stakeholder review of Ghana’s existing agricultural extension policy and its implementation. He said results of the Forum will be used to inform the Government of Ghana and other stakeholders involved in policy decision-making and advocacy efforts. The objective he said is to summarize and analyze key themes in the existing agricultural extension policy framework, to assess policy implementation progress, and to develop prioritized recommendations for implementation and …
US Forest Services Coastal Sustainable Landscapes Project Underway
The United States Forest Services is implementing a three-year Coastal Sustainable Landscapes project in 17 communities in the six coastal districts of the Western Region. The United States Agency for International Development is funding the 3.3 million dollars project. Dr Steve Dennison, Director of the project told journalists during a media field trip to project sites at Ayawora and Adubrim in the Ellembelle District, that the project would also be implemented in 23 other communities in conjunction with Hen Mpoano, a non-governmental organization. He said more than 400 farmers are participating in the project which is in its first year of implementation. He said the project is aimed at strengthening capacity for low emissions development through improved coastal forest landscape management.
Poultry Sector to Receive GH¢39 million — Dr Louisa Bisiw
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Hanna Louisa Bisiw, has said the government will soon heed to the GH¢39 million promise it made to revamp the poultry sector. According to her, although there have been challenges delaying the release of the fund, documentation and processes are far advanced for the fund to be released to the poultry farmers. Dr Bisiw disclosed this to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in Accra on May 7, 2015, at the inaugural ceremony of the Ghana Broiler Revitalization Programme Steering Committee…. We are hopeful that the fund will be released soon to the poultry farmers so that the broiler processing plant will be set up to help solve the litany of issues confronting the sector” she said. According to her, the effect will be a long value chain, from day old chicks, feed, drugs, structures, varied products which will provide opportunities for job creation and huge foreign exchange savings.
Ghana to Meet Target in Fish Production
Ghana aims to produce 100,000 metric tonnes of fish annually by 2016, but many of the fish cages that should be in production are empty because the first harvest from those cages did not meet the expectations of investors. This is because investors are not well informed about the business, whilst some leave their fish farms in the hands of untrained persons along the beaches, leading to poor management of their investments. Currently, the country produces 38,000 metric tonnes of fish annually. Dr Seth Koranteng Agyenkwa of the Water Research Institute (WRI) disclosed this at the Eastern Regional Research, Extension Farmer Linkage Committee Review meeting at Koforidua. He said the WRI has developed a technology for breeding of either only male fish or mixed tilapia and catfish, was also developing fish feed locally, to help reduce the cost of fish farming in the country. Dr Agyenkwa said the Institute has also developed good parent stocks for production of high quality fingerlings, and urged hatcheries to use them. He advised investors to use high quality fingerlings to enable them to have good returns on their investments.
Reports/Articles
Oil Rents, Policy and Social Development Lessons from the Ghana Controversy
F Obeng-Odoom - 2015
This paper shows that the Ghanaian state expends its resources on four priority areas: loan financing, agricultural modernization, capacity building, and road construction and maintenance. It argues that the emphasis on “roads for prosperity” reflects a strong commitment to economic growth not as an end in itself but as a strategy to achieve broader social development goals. While this expenditure pattern is broadly consistent with institutional processes in the country and is largely transparent, the expenditure of oil rents has negated or made only modest contributions to socioeconomic development. This paper shows that channeling oil rents into an alternative holistic social energy programme will drive sustainable social change through energy security and sovereignty, the creation of green jobs, and the reduction of dramatic levels of actual and perceived income, wealth and gendered inequalities in the country in a way that will make this social change both desirable and feasible.
Coastal Environmental Policies and Water: Environmental Values in Ghana and Senegal
MR Loftus - 2015
This thesis provides a comparative analysis of the environmental values present in Ghana’s and Senegal’s coastal regions, and the implications that those have for the surrounding environment. The countries approaches to urban farming, mining and oil and gas extraction, fishing, marine debris and municipal waste management are assessed in order to reach a greater understanding of these environmental issues. In undertaking this thesis, I attempted to draw a correlation between the handling of these issues and how people perceive their environment. Through the comparison of environmental degradation and the level of effort to achieve a more sustainable developmental framework in both countries, I draw examples from successes in Senegal’s coastal management framework to recommend appropriate environmental policy for the Greater Accra Region….
Women Empowerment as a Component of Social Responsibility in Participatory Varietal Selection
PA Sofi - Journal of Krishi Vigyan, 2015
Rural women are key agents for achieving the transformation in terms of economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. However, in developing countries women face a multitude of problems which an otherwise gender blind approach often fails to appreciate or even identify. The unpredictable social, political, economical and personal hardships they face daily are difficult to grasp. The participatory approaches fine relevance in a way that they give appropriate weight age to gender differences and recognize the fact that needs of men and women are invariably different. The varietal development process also needs to be integrated into a holistic programme instead a compartmentalized activity where plant scientists, farming system experts, economists, extension persons, farmers and consumers are equally conscious to and contribute through their capacities towards development of varieties that meet the aspirations of small holder farmers in terms of productivity enhancement and livelihood security…
Between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Outsourcing: Which Policy Strategy Will Enhance the Competitiveness of the Nigerian Rice Sector?
JO Animashaun, VET Ojehomon, A Muhammad-Lawal…
The dawn of the global economy which ushered in trade liberalization has been greeted with mixed feelings among developing countries. This is because liberalization rarely brings about a zero-sum welfare gain among asymmetric participating countries. However, one critical aspect of globalization that can benefit developing countries is the encouragement of foreign sourcing. Outsourcing and foreign direct investment (FDI) will bring about strategic linkages with local buyers, suppliers and other institutions. Against this background, this the sector over a projected 10-year (2013-2023) period in Nigeria. It subsequently modelled the welfare implication of FDI and outsourcing on the host nation. This study emphasized the need for increased investment that will enhance technological spillovers to the local producers. The model suggests that at a low level of human capital and high absorptive capacity, it benefits the country to first encourage FDI and subsequently encourage more of outsourcing as it is a better welfare enhancing strategy. The study concludes by recommending the setting up of attractive investment….
Heavy Metals and Proximate Composition of Forest Leafy Vegetables in Oil Producing Area of Nigeria
AT Oladele, OO Fadare - Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and …, 2015
This work investigated heavy metals content of Forest Leafy Vegetables (FLVs) consumed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Fresh samples of eight commonly consumed FLV species were obtained from two major markets in Port Harcourt. FLVs were dried, digested and analyzed with flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) for heavy metals. Proximate analysis of FLVs was carried out using standard method of AOAC. Concentrations of Iron (Fe) ranged from 4.69ppm (Heinsia crinata) - 8.97ppm (Gongronema latifolia), Manganese was highest in Liasanthera Africana (6.03ppm) and lowest in O.gratissimum (0.45ppm) while Magnesium levels ranged from 0.609 – 1.630ppm. P.guineense accumulate highest Pb….Proximate analyses showed that the FLVs possess useful nutritional contents required for healthy growth…
International Agricultural Research to Reduce Food Risks: Case Studies on Aflatoxins
D Grace, G Mahuku, V Hoffmann, C Atherstone… - Food Security, 2015
Despite massive expansion of human and livestock populations, fuelled by agricultural innovations, nearly one billion people are hungry and 2 billion are sickened each year from the food they eat. Agricultural and food systems are intimately connected to health outcomes, but health policy and programs often stop at the clinic door. A consensus is growing that the disconnection between agriculture, health and nutrition is at least partly responsible for the disease burden associated with food and farming. Mycotoxins produced by fungi are one of the most serious food safety problems affecting staple crops (especially maize and groundnuts). Aflatoxins, the best studied of these mycotoxins, cause around 90,000 cases of liver cancer each year and are strongly associated with stunting and immune suppression in children. Mycotoxins also cause major economic disruptions through their impacts on trade and livestock production. In this paper we use the case of fungal toxins to explore how agricultural research can produce innovations, understand incentives and enable institutions to improve, simultaneously, food safety, food…
Trading in the Volta clam, Galatea Paradoxa in the Lower Volta Basin of Ghana
ED Abarike, EH Alhassan, PE Alipui - 2015
The study was conducted in Denu, Keta and Sogakope towns all in the Southern part of the Volta Region of Ghana to elicit information on the socio-economic status and constrains of fisherwomen involved in the Volta Clam, fishery. Majority of the respondents aged between 30 to 35 years. 26% had Junior School and 2% have had Tertiary education. Majority of the women in the clam business do not have access to credit facilities. Women had difficulty in harvesting and processing because they use crude methods. Extension services should target women to help equip them with new knowledge and technologies in Clam trade…..
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