Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Ghana to Host International Meeting on Agric
The Global Panel on Agriculture and Food System, headquartered in the United Kingdom, will in November hold its Third Global Meeting in Accra, under the auspices of the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation. The meeting, slated for November 16 to 18, will be the first in Africa, and will be co-chaired by former President Kufuor. It will bring together global experts in the Agriculture sector, to discuss issues pertaining to food security, malnutrition, health, and improvement in the Agriculture sector. Briefing the media on the event, Professor Sandy Thomas, Executive Director, Global Panel on Agriculture and Food System, said the meeting would tap into the ideas of Ghanaians, their visions and priorities pertaining to the Agriculture sector, to help identify where Global Panel should focus on its discussions
COCOBOD Vows to Retrieve US$131m Debt from Processing Firms
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is worried over a US$131million debt owed by local cocoa processing firms, and has vowed to retrieve all monies to help boost crop production. Among the companies owing the Board are Cocoa Processing Company, West African Mills Company (WAMCO), Plot Enterprise, Afro Tropic, and Real Products. COCOBOD has over the years been supplying cocoa beans to local processing companies on credit at a discount of 20 percent, targeted at growing local businesses and creating employment. Noah Kwesi Amenyah, Public Affairs Manager, Cocobod, told B&FT in an interview that: “We wish to direct all processing companies owing the Board to quickly put in measures that clear their indebtedness for smooth delivery of beans for their operations.
Cocoa Farmers Receive Seedlings, Fertilizers
About Five Hundred cocoa farmers from the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality in the Eastern Region, have taken delivery of 100,000 seedlings and quantities of fertilisers for this year’s planting season. The beneficiary communities are Pakro, Otu Kwadwo, Fahiako, Asiawkrom and Ahyirensu-Yeboakrom. This formed part of COCOBOD’s initiative to distribute 50 million cocoa seedlings free of charge to farmers across the country. The Health and Extension Service, the implementer, has put in place measures to fast-track distribution…Prior to the distribution of the items, the beneficiaries were registered by the Health and Extension Service of COCOBOD, which measured their farms to determine allocation per farmer, he said, adding; “This aims at promoting the wide usage of fertilisers.”
Dubai Confident of Transforming Ghana’s Cocoa Sector
Director of International Offices of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Omar Khan expressed Dubai’s readiness to play a pivotal role in Ghana’s cocoa sector, using its comparative advantage as a trade hub for Asia and beyond. The country’s cocoa sector, Mr. Khan said, has enormous potential for both players in Ghana as well as businesses in Dubai that are seeking to invest in the crop, which already accounts for 20% of the country’s total export earnings. To assess the potential for opportunities between cocoa government agencies and relevant private enterprises, Dubai Chamber held its first Cocoa Roundtable Discussion in Accra in August 2015. Speaking at the event, which was also attended by private enterprises that operate at various levels in the cocoa value chain Mr. Khan said, this discussion was necessary for Dubai to further understand the operations of this sector. “The cocoa sector is very complicated with many gaps and challenges, but that means ….
Delay in Payment Fuelling Cocoa Smuggling
The delay in payment for cocoa beans to farmers by Purchasing Clerks has been cited as one of the main elements fuelling cocoa-smuggling around the country’s border communities to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. Ghana loses thousands of metric tonnes of cocoa every year to smuggling, which is being triggered by varied reasons such as price disparity as a result of depreciation of the cedi as against the major trading currencies. But some farmers have also alleged that purchasing clerks buy the commodity on credit, hence farmers trade with Ivorian merchants who pay ready cash. In an interview with B&FT, Abenaa Saa a farmer said: “Most of the purchasing clerks delay payments for about two or three weeks. Many of us have dire financial commitments and can’t wait for such periods, and therefore we have to sell to the Ivorian buyers who are always willing to pay in cash and also at a more competitive price”.
MOFA Staff Schooled on Seed Policy
The USAID and the Ghana Feed the Future Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP) has organized a two-day workshop for the National Seed Council (NSC) at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) on seed regulatory framework. The workshop which also brought together civil society organization and private sector groups in the agric sector is to provide all Council members a clear understanding of the seed regulatory framework and, based on the Council’s roles, responsibilities and functions, the development of their internal operational rules. Speaking at the event, USAID Chief of Party, Walter Nunez-Rodriguez underscored the need for in-depth education on how the seed policy should work. He indicated that the wellbeing of farmers and growth of the agric sector in Ghana is the number one agenda of the Ghana Feed the Future Agriculture Policy Support Project.
GhanaVeg, MOFA to Improve Quality of Vegetable Production
The GhanaVeg Program under the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) is offering technical and infrastructural support to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to increase vegetable exports to European markets. Inadequate inspection materials and poor agricultural practices have been identified as major factors impeding Ghana’s potentials in vegetable export. Under the initiative, the Ministry’s Plant Protection and Regulatory Service Directorate will be supported to address issues in basic agronomy to help improve the quality of vegetables produced. “Some of these problems in basic agronomy, when sorted out, the harmful organisms that put the produce in the category of harmful products will be curtailed,” said Sheila Assibey-Yeboah, Deputy Program Leader of GhanaVeg.
Ghana's fishing failure
The government has been unable to stop foreign trawlers from pillaging or local fishermen from using unsustainable methods to increase their catch, despite EU pressure Ghana's poor protection of its fishing resources is hurting small-scale fishermen and is causing disputes with the country's major trade partners. While the government has stepped up its efforts since the European Union (EU) awarded a 'yellow card' warning for its failure to fight illegal fishing in 2013, it has not been able to stop practices that pollute the environment and decimate fish populations. The problem is not limited to Ghana, and the Gulf of Guinea is renowned for widespread flouting of fishing laws. According to the Africa Progress Panel think tank, around $1.3bn is lost each year in West Africa to illegal fishing. Some 50km east of Accra is Prampram, a fishing community where most of the men have at some stage in their lives been engaged in fishing.
New $35 Million Competition will Enable Greater Financial Inclusion for Smallholder Farmers in Africa
The MasterCard Foundation has announced the opening of a US$35 million Scaling Competition under its Fund for Rural Prosperity. This is a follow up to the successful Innovation Competition held earlier this year. Both competitions, intended for financial service providers, are designed to improve the lives of at least one million smallholder farmers and people living in poverty in rural areas of Sub-Saharan African countries. A number of challenges have prevented the financial services and agribusiness sectors from developing and scaling up the financial products and services that farmers and rural poor people need. These challenges include the high costs to traditional financial service providers of doing business in remote areas, the lack of staff know-how to design appropriate products and the fact that many farm families are unaware of the benefits they might obtain by accessing the formal financial system.
Dutch Government Gives Scholarship to 69 Ghanaians
The Dutch government has granted 69 Ghanaians scholarship to study in the Netherlands in various disciplines. A statement from the Dutch Embassy said 42 of the candidates would be pursuing Master’s degree programmes, in various disciplines such as Water Resource Management, Public Health, Rural development and Food Security, among others. Twenty four of them would also be pursuing short courses in Climate Change Management, Food Security, Urban management and development through the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP). A pre departure briefing for the 69 new students, who would be leaving to pursue their studies in the Netherlands in October, would be held at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands by the Netherlands Alumni Association in Ghana and the Embassy.
Vegetables Prices Up Due to Erratic Rainfall in Brong-Ahafo Region
Prices of vegetables have shot-up in the Sunyani Municipality due to erratic rainfall pattern in the Brong-Ahafo Region, a market survey conducted by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) has revealed. According to traders at the Sunyani central market, because of the erratic rainfall pattern in the crop season, vegetable farmers in the region had to hire machines to water their produce. This, the traders told the GNA in a random interview, had affected prices of vegetables and other fresh foods. A box of tomatoes, which sells at GHȼ80.00, is now going for GHȼ100.00, whiles a basket of garden eggs, which sells at GHȼ15.00, is now pegged at GHȼ30.00. A basket of okro however remains stable, going for GHȼ20.00, whilst a sack of onion now sells at GHȼ300.00 instead of GHȼ250.00. The price of cabbage keeps increasing, with a big sack selling at GHȼ900.00, whiles two fingers of carrot is pegged at GHȼ1.00. The market price of pepper has however dropped from GHȼ10.00 to GHȼ5.00.
Start-up Equipment Presented to Beneficiaries of Green Economy
Two hundred and thirty one beneficiaries of the Green Economy in Biosphere Reserve (GEBR) project at the Bia National Park and Bia Resource Reserve in the Western Region have received Start-up equipment. The 231 beneficiaries from 28 communities within the Bia National Park and Bia Resource Reserve, underwent training in bee keeping, snail farming, palm oil extraction and mushroom production. They were given certificates of participation and equipment such as beehives, snail pens, palm oil extracting machines and mushroom production sheds. The project, which is under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere programme is a revolving fund, which provides each farmer with a facility in kind after she/he had opened an account with the HFC Bank, through which deductions will be made for repayment.
Kofi Annan, Wife Visits Potato Field in North
Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, and his wife, Mrs. Nane Annan, Friday visited a sweet potato trial field at Nyankpala in the Northern Region to observe the progress being made in sweet potatoes production in the country. The field formed part of the orange-fleshed sweet potato project being undertaken by the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR – SARI), in partnership with the International Potato Center. The visit would enable Mrs. Annan to drive international support for the production, marketing and consumption of sweet potatoes in the country to improve nutritional status of children and their mothers to amongst others, prevent stunting in children. Sweet potatoes are a source of vitamin A, which is essential in improving the nutritional status of children….
NGO Promotes Potato Cultivation in Upper East
Farmers in the Bawku West District were on Thursday encouraged to focus on cultivating the Orange fleshed Sweet Potato which is more nutritious than other food products in the area. The orange potato has been found to do well in the area and farmers can rely on its good yield to increase their income and food security. It is especially rich in vitamin “A” and can improve the nutritional status of children. The International Development Enterprise (iDE), a Non-Governmental Organization working to promote quality food production, revealed this at a forum in Zebilla to educate farmers drawn from the Bawku West District, on the nutritional value of potato and the need to focus on its cultivation. Mr. Kodimah Issifu Mahama, the Acting Director of iDE, explained that the project sought to promote production and consumption of the potato as part of efforts to increase food production and security in the Upper East Region using a market driven approach.
Yara Ghana, John Deere Holds Demonstration Workshop for Farmers
Yara Ghana Limited (YGL), in collaboration with John Deere International, has held a demonstration workshop in Accra to sensitize farmers on the importance of effective crop nutrition and appropriate mechanisms on farms. The demonstration workshop was carried out to show farmers the result of effective crop nutrition and technology in farming practices carried out with YaraMila Actyva Fertilizer and appropriate mechanization tools from John Deere. The demonstration also educated commercial and peasant farmers on appropriate use and application of fertilizers; using technology and mechanization in crop production; the effective use of soil and leaf analysis to determine crop and soil deficiencies; and irrigation technologies. Mr. Kwame Okyere, Head of Marketing, YGL said the partnership with John Deere to organise the workshop because they saw the good works of the organisation in improving the agricultural sector.
Mango Farmers Complain About Continued Disease Spread
Mango farmers have complained about the bacterial black spot (BBS) disease attack on their crops, and called for urgent action to stop the spread. The disease reportedly is ravaging mango farms, killing the trees and destroying yet-to-mature fruits. It causes cracks in both the tress and the fruit, resulting in the latter getting rotten, and dropping from the tree prematurely. The disease is said to be spreading in Kintampo, Techiman, Nkoranza and other mango-growing areas in Brong-Ahafo, as well as the Eastern Region. About 80 per cent of mango plantation in Kintampo and its surrounding communities had come under attack. Mr. Kwasi Etu-Bonde, Managing Director of Sky-3 Farms at Kintampo, expressed concern about the development at a workshop to discuss access to financing by agribusiness operators and farmers from Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo in Kumasi.
CSIR – SARI Schools Namibia on GMOs
A delegation from the Namibia Biosafety Council has visited the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR – SARI) at Nyankpala near Tamale to learn about Ghana’s experiences in researching into Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The visit was also to enable members of the delegation to learn about how the GMO system was set up in Ghana in terms of creating the regulatory institution, the legal framework and the infrastructure, all of which culminated in Ghana undertaking confined field trials of GMO cowpea and Bt cotton. This was to enable Namibia not to repeat any mistakes that might have been made in Ghana’s case. Namibia, a southern African country, is a party to the Cartagena Protocol and has drafted a Biosafety Law in preparation to begin research into GMOs in the near future.
Up Budgetary Allocation for Scientific Studies - Dr. Agyemang
Dr. Victor Agyemang, Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has criticized the poor budgetary support to Science, Research and Technology Education in Africa, and said this would have to change if it was to win the battle against poverty. The situation where the continent produced only two per cent of the world’s knowledge and less than 0.1 per cent of inventions, should be a source of deep worry to everybody. The picture even becomes darker considering the fact that the number of researchers in sub-Saharan Africa is currently estimated to be just about one-fifteenth of the world’s average. Dr. Agyemang said this had been the cause of Africa’s slow socio-economic progress. In spite of its abundant natural resources, human capital and development potentials, Africa was ranked the least industrialized, accounting for less than one per cent of the global manufacturing index.
Trade Hub Advances Effort to Address Agribusiness Access to Finance
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Trade Hub Project has intensified its commitment to address challenges confronting the agricultural sector, especially in the area of access to credit, holding various stakeholder engagement workshops on agribusiness financing. Agricultural financing, a critical input in enabling businesses to increase production, sales and profit, remains one of the major constraints facing the country’s agricultural sector. Many financial institutions have historically been reluctant to finance agribusinesses due to past challenges in repayment of government subsidized loans and the natural risks in farming and the agricultural trade. As a result of some of this development among others, access to agricultural and agricultural trade finance in the country is difficult to obtain and limits the chances of many farmers and others in the value chain to improve their trade.
Reports/Articles
Mitigation of Agricultural Emissions in the Tropics: Comparing Forest Land-sparing Options at the National Level
S Carter, M Herold, MC Rufino, K Neumann, L Kooistra… - Biogeosciences, 2015
Emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation are of global concern, but forest land-sparing interventions such as agricultural intensification and utilization of available non-forest land offer opportunities for mitigation. In many tropical countries, where agriculture is the major driver of deforestation, interventions in the agriculture sector could reduce deforestation emissions as well as reduce emissions in the agriculture sector. Our study uses a novel approach to quantify agriculture-driven deforestation and associated emissions in the tropics between 2000 and 2010. Emissions from agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics (97 countries) are 4.3 GtCO2e yr−1. We investigate the national potential to mitigate these emissions through forest land-sparing interventions, which can potentially be implemented under REDD+. We consider intensification and utilization of available non-forested land as forest land-sparing opportunities since they avoid the expansion of…
T3+: A Tool for Processing and Managing Ghanaian Industrial Tuna Fisheries Data
E Chassot, P Cauquil, S Ayivi, P Bannerman - Collect. Vol. Sci. Pap. ICCAT, 2015
This document present a work plan to improve the monitoring of Ghanaian fisheries through the development of specific software to: (i) facilitate the description of fisheries data collected by MFRD through easy extraction and visualization of raw data, including size samples, (ii) extend the criteria used for the post-stratification of size-frequency samples, and (iii) develop an export tool that facilitates the provision of Task I and II processed data to the ICCAT secretariat. This work plan is included in the overall plan for improving the Ghanaian Task II statistics adopted by the SCRS in 2011.
Dry Forests, Livelihoods and Poverty Alleviation: Understanding Current Trends
H Djoudi, E Vergles, RR Blackie, CK Koame, D Gautier - International Forestry …, 2015
Dry forests play a significant role if the livelihoods strategies of millions of people, including many of the world’s poorest. This paper reviews the role of dry forests in providing goods and services to the rural poor. The review shows that while dry forests are essential, rural communities are engaged in multiple activities that generate income and the economic importance of forests and trees is context specific. Although the majority of households benefit from forest resources, poorer households tend to generate more relative income from forest products than wealthier households. Community forestry, tourism and payment for environmental service (PES) are promising alternative sources of environmental income, but the outcomes for the poorest remain uncertain. Trade in non-timber forest products (NTFP) is often viewed as a last resort and provides the safety net to cope with both environmental and economic shocks, especially for women. Hence, beyond timber, there ….
Ghana School Feeding Program: A Retrospective Review
GP Atta, J Manu - International Journal of Innovative Research and …, 2015
Since independence, Ghana has embraced formal education as a catalyst for its developmental agenda. As a developing country, it is confronted with myriads of challenges such as a - high rate of poverty, low school enrollment, gender disparity, environmental degradation, corruption, intermittent power supply, and a shortage of teachers, among others. As a measure to tackle these problems, especially low school enrollment, the government has put in place a number of social intervention programs which include free transportation for school children, scholarship schemes for students, free school uniforms, and capitation grant. Recently, the government introduced the school feeding program as a tool to reduce poverty, increase enrollment, and to create market for local foodstuffs. The program has increased enrollment tremendously in the pilot schools; however, its challenges and implementation pose a serious threat to its sustainability. This paper reviews the GSFP and puts forth some suggestions to help sustain the program.
The Potential of Foodservice Operations at Visitor Attractions in Ghana
AA Frempong - Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 2015
The success of a tourist attraction embeds in the provision of foodservice facilities that has the potential to offer the visitor experiences demanded at the sites. In an attempt to explore the relationships between visitor attractions and foodservice in Ghana, this paper provides evidences from an investigation conducted at six selected visitor attractions at various destinations. Due to the paucity of published data on the concept under investigation, this study included two phases: qualitative followed up with a quantitative research. However, the second one, which was based on a survey involving international and domestic visitors (528), is the main focus of this paper. The information gathered in phase one informed the design for the visitors’ survey, whose data were analyzed through the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS). Findings from the study showed a high demand for foodservices at all attractions. Collaborations among formally trained staff and informal or ….
Current Maize Production, Postharvest Losses and the Risk of Mycotoxins Contamination in Tanzania
RA Suleiman, KA Rosentrater - 2015
Agriculture is the backbone of Tanzanian economy. It accounts for about one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP), provides 85 percent of all exports and saves as a livelihood to over 80 percent of the total population. Maize is the primary staple crop; it’s grown in nearly all agro-ecological zones in the country. Tanzania is a major maize producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the last four decades, Tanzania has ranked among the top 25 maize producing countries in the world. In the 2013/14 growing seasons Tanzania produced over half billion metric tons of maize of these maize smallholder farmers produced around 85%. Despite the steady production of maize over the past three decades, post-harvest losses of maize remained significant, up to 30-40 % in some rural areas. Post-harvest handling, poor infrastructure, weather variability, biotic factors such as insects and pests, bacteria, pathogens, viruses, and fungi, often aggravate such losses …
*The GSSP News Digest just summarizes news that is reported in the press. Any errors of fact or omission are not IFPRI’s responsibility*