Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Biosafety Authority Steps up Checks at Entry Points to Stop Entry of GM Foods
The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has stepped up checks at the country’s entry points to stop the illegal entry of Genetically Modified Foods (GM Food). This follows concerns GM foods are already being imported into the country without approval. Some GM foods produced in America are difficult to identify because they are unlabelled. The Biosafety Act requires that all GM foods to be imported into the country or produced locally for commercial consumption are approved by the NBA first. But so far, it has not approved any GM food for consumption yet. Board member of the authority Prof. Kwabena Mantey Bosompem tells Joy news the authority is working with other agencies to screen and detect such foods. “Now with our regulatory framework developed, now the NBA, working …
Groundnut Must be Ghana’s Next Cash Crop after Cocoa
Agriculturist, Professor David Miller, wants Ghana to make groundnut its second cash crop after cocoa. According to him, the negative impact of the fall in price of cocoa on the economy is an indication that urgent steps need to be taken to create more cash crops for the nation. “Cocoa has sustained the economy for long. If you say agriculture is the backbone of your economy and you have only one commodity that is sustaining the economy you are not business-like, to use their own terms, you are not efficient. It means if that one commodity fails the economy will collapse,” Prof. Miller told Starr Business. Government has blamed its extensive borrowing this year to finance capital investment to the drop in the world prices of the country’s two main export commodities - cocoa and gold…
Cocoa Research Institute Wants Partners to Market By-products
The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) of the Ghana Cocoa Board is asking entrepreneurs for partnerships to produce and market its cocoa by-products on the international consuming market. This will help farmers generate extra income through the processing of their produce and by-products. Currently, the Institute is in close collaboration with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre to help promote the cocoa by-materials and products. The CRIG has over the years spearheaded development and production of by-products -- such as body creams, bathing soap and other liquid soap products, jam for bread, and some bitters and wine - from its cocoa products…
COCOBOD Ready to Sign US$1.8billion Syndicated Loan... Pays back US$1.7billion
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) says it is ready to sign a US$1.8billion syndicated loan from a consortium of banks on the world financial market, to enable it procure about 850,000 tonnes of cocoa beans for the 2015/2016 crop season. The final signing for the syndicated loan is expected by the middle of this month. The Board has fully repaid the US$1.7billion loan it raised from a consortium of banks in 2014 to finance cocoa purchases in the 2014/15 crop season. “We took a loan to buy cocoa and as off today we don’t owe any bank; we have fully paid and so for us we are going to sign the next loan,” the Public Affairs Manager of COCOBOD, Mr. Noah Amenyah told B&FT that the 2014/15 crop season loan attracted an interest of one percent within the period…
Destruction of Shea Trees Worrying
The Shea Network Ghana (SNG) has expressed concern about the continuous destruction of shea trees under the government’s rural self-help electrification project currently on-going in some districts in the Northern Region. A press statement issued by SNG signed by its National Coordinator Mr. Zakaria Iddi said: “SNG has noted with disappointment how community members have been mobilised to cut down a number of shea trees to pave the way for erection of electricity poles in two communities (Sensena and Tedrope) in the North Gonja district with permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)”. The statement said: “This action if not checked has the potential to worsen economic lives of the rural people, especially women, as well as discouraging climate-resilience campaigns,…
PFAG to Monitor Fertilizer, Seed Subsidy Programmes
Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) is to monitor the government’s Fertilizer and Seed Subsidy Programmes to identify weaknesses in the implementation of the initiatives from both farmers and distributors end, and recommend ways to improve it. To this end, PFAG has begun training its members on monitoring of the Fertilizer / Seed Subsidy Programmes to enable them to better monitor the initiatives in their communities to report the inherent weaknesses. The two-day training workshop, which ended in Tamale on Friday, was also to enable the participants, drawn from Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, share their practical experiences about the implementation of the Fertilizer/ Seed Subsidy Programmes….
KUAPA Series Launched for Farmers
Smallholder farmers will soon begin to acquire knowledge on improved seeds and complementary technologies under the Scaling Seeds and Technologies Partnership (SSTP) intended to empower the farmer on good agronomic practices through a television show. The Kuapa television reality show is a two-season, 26-episode series under the auspices of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) as well as having support from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the USAID. Representative from AGRA Issoujou Kapran, in explaining the show’s rationale said: “The Kuapa show is a new way of creating awareness at the highest level. We have a similar initiative working in Kenya, so we thought it was a great opportunity to bring it to Ghana….
Chief Farmer Advises Against Ill Handling of Cocoa
The Nsawam – Adoagyiri Municipal Chief Farmer in the Eastern Region has stated that, cocoa beans that are not properly fermented and thoroughly dried up often develop a lot of defects. Nana Kumi Abiesi II, also Chief of Abeisikrom near Marfokrom told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Abiesikrom that the defects include the shrinking in size and lost weight. He advised that if cocoa farmers attach importance to proper fermentation and drying of the beans, before sending them to the societies (sheds) to sell, they would derive the benefits of their toil. The 76-year-old Chief Farmer advised his colleagues to adhere to the guidelines given them by cocoa health and extension officials, to help check cheating by Purchasing Clerks (P/C)….
Poor Smallholders Farmers Benefit from Project
The Canadian Feed The Children (CFTC) and the Association of Church-based Development (ACDEP), have been working with more than 5,600 poor smallholders farmers to increase and diversify their production in the Upper West Region. The 19 million Canadian Dollar Resilient and Sustainable Livelihood Transformation (RESULT) project would benefit about 70 per cent women and widows, from 58 communities in the Lawra and Jirapa districts to improve on their sources of income, and establish new income opportunities including aquaculture to enhance their livelihoods. The Canadian government through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development is financing the six years project, which would improve the skills and knowledge of vulnerable farmers and increase….
Artisans in Wood Processing Industry to Enroll in Certification Program
The Forestry Commission Training Centre (FCTC) at Akyawkrom-Ejisu, near Kumasi, is pursuing a certification program for artisans in Ghana’s wood processing industry to promote professionalism in the sector. The dwindling forest resource demands prudent use of lumber in furniture making, among others. Centre Director, Joseph Boakye, says the impartation of appropriate skills and knowledge will position artisans to maximize utilization of raw materials. The FCTC is currently engaged in the upgrade of the skills of master craftsmen in carpentry, joinery and other woodworks to standardize their operations. “We want to organize proper training and certification of apprentices,” he said. “We’ll examine them but the examination will be practical oriented because we want them to have …
Northern Region Takes Measures to Prevent Bird Flu
All district veterinary offices in the Northern Region have received funds to undertake sensitisation activities on the avian influenza (bird flu) as part of efforts to prevent the outbreak of the disease in the region. Dr Mathias Kojo Ayensu, Regional Veterinary Officer, who made this known in Tamale, said the funds, transferred to the districts last month, were made available by the World Bank as part of its contributions to the government’s efforts to prevent the outbreak of the avian influenza to other parts of the country. Dr Ayensu announced this at a stakeholders meeting organised by the Regional Office of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in Tamale to discuss measures being implemented to prevent the disease….
United Nations University Engages Stakeholders on Waste Water Management
The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) has held a seminar to discuss with stakeholders findings from a research on wastewater management. The seminar was on the theme, “Addressing Wastewater Challenges with an African Bio-resource”. The research, which assessed the effectiveness of the African vetiver species “Chrosopogon nitgritana’’ in treating wastewater, revealed that the vetiver grass is effective in removing contaminants from wastewater. Presenting the research findings at the seminar, Dr. Effiom E. Oku, a Senior Research Fellow for Land and Water Resources, noted that wastewater from industries and domestic sources usually contained toxic metals, including cadmium, arsenic, copper, lead, phosphorus and nitrate…
Tenure of Embattled ADB Boss Extended
The Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Stephen Kpordzih, will continue to direct affairs at the bank after his contract was extended by six more months. A letter sighted by www.tv3network.com and signed by Nana Soglo Alloh IV, the board chairman, said President John Dramani Mahama approved the extension of Mr. Kpordzih. “The extended period will be under the same terms and conditions of the contract existing immediately prior to the extension," the letter said. Mr. Kpordzih was a subject of labour unrests within the banking firm a few months earlier after staff accused him of misappropriating funds. They called for his resignation and the dissolution of the board of governors. The workers accused the MD and the board of selling the bank’s head office for $10 million only to rent a facility at GH¢1 million per month.
Food Insecurity Looms in Ghana if… - Expert
Lead Coordinator for the Farmer Organization Support Centre in Africa (FOSCA) at AGRA, Fadel Ndiame, has predicted of food insecurity in Ghana if government fails to fully implement policies to boost agriculture production in the country. Mr. Ndiame believes Ghana possesses adequate policies outlining the framework to develop the agricultural sector but fears more work has to be done with regards to enhancing private sector participation to improve food production. He spoke to Citi News on the sidelines of the launch of the Africa Agribusiness Network in Accra. “Ghana has all the chances, you have the scientific knowledge, the technology is available in the country and in the region, there is a local demand for the produce, I think the next step is to make sure that we promote…
Reports/Articles
Socio-Economic Determinants of Intensity of Adoption of Cocoa Research Innovations in Ghana
E Obuobisa-Darko - International Journal of African and Asian Studies, 2015
A number of technologies expected to increase cocoa yield per hectare have been introduced by the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) but cocoa farmers are reluctant to adopt and intensify the use of these technologies. This study therefore sought to identify the factors which influence intensity of adoption of cocoa research innovations in Ghana. Six hundred (600) cocoa farmers selected through multistage sampling technique were used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The double hurdle model was used to estimate the determinants of intensity of adoption and factors which were found to be statistically significant were age of the farmer, household size, farm size, education, hired labour, own labour, non-hired labour, membership of association and frequency of extension advice. It is therefore recommended that government should improve upon facilities in the rural areas to reduce the migration of the youth to the urban
Perspectives on Small-scale Mining in the Birim North District of Ghana
J Fearon, N Agbah, E Dawutey - Journal of Environment and Earth Science, 2015
Small-scale mining operations in the study area are illegal (galamsey). Using the Conceptual mapping approach, we explored the effects of the illegal activity on the environment and livelihoods in two farming communities in the Birim North District. Majority (89%) of the galamsey operators (n=180) are migrants from five regions, besides the Eastern. Indigenes from the Volta Region constituted the bulk (53%), followed by Ashanti region with 17%. Participants aged between 16 and 39 years formed 74% of the miners with women making up 10%. They migrated in search for job opportunities that were limited or non-existent in their respective regions of origin. Three types of galamsey operations identified were underground, underwater, and surface mining. The activities have degraded vast farmlands through indiscriminate excavation and exposure of topsoil to agents of erosion. With 8% of drinking water sources in the district declared as unsafe, contamination of water bodies that…
Women’s Land Use Right Policy and Household Food Security in Ethiopia: Review
GT Alemu - International Journal of African and Asian Studies, 2015
The issue of land and women’s land rights in rural Africa is at the heart of scholarly literature written by African and non-African scholars in recent years. This appears to be a common practice especially in rural parts of subSaharan Africa. Women play a critical role in agricultural production in developing countries, where they usually make up the majority of the agricultural workforce. Thus, secure access to productive land is critical to the millions of poor people living in rural areas and depending on agriculture, livestock or forests for their livelihood. Women‘s access to land, in particular, is widely recognized as important both for ensuring equality of basic rights and for reducing poverty and ensuring household food security. This would makes it more critical to review a literature on women’s land use right and household food security to look at whether women enjoy equal rights to land, property and natural resources in practice, rather than only under statutory law, to achieve…
Women’s Contribution To Local Economic Development: A Study Of Women In Cassava Production And Processing In Central Tongu District
S Mensah Obed - 2015
The study examined women’s contribution to local economic development (LED) via cassava production and processing in Central Tongu District of the Volta Region of Ghana. Survey research methodology using questionnaires and guided interviews were used in collecting data required for the study. Proportional stratified probability sampling with simple random sampling technique was used to select 171 respondents out of 296 in the sampling frame. The objectives of the study were to examine the effects of women’s socio-economic factors on cassava production and processing, assess activities performed by the women, ascertain their sources of support, assess profitability of cassava production and processing as economic activities and examine problems women faced…
Role Perception and Performance of Agricultural Extension Agents in Maize Marketing in Delta State Nigeria
BO Ovwigho - Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare, 2015
The rural small scale farmers have remained poor in spite of the fact that they produce the bulk of food consumed in the country. The study was designed, therefore, to investigate the role of the extension agents on maize marketing as an antidote to boosting the farmers income Fifty percent (50%) of the extension agents attached to the Delta Agricultural Development Project were randomly selected to compose the sample. Based on the affirmative responses, it was concluded that the extension agents did not perform their functions well in terms of advising the farmers about available markets for maize (10.00%), grading (4.00%), advise on transportation (10.00%), packaging (14.00%), advise on resource use efficiency (2.00%) planning and market promotion (2.00%), and sales …
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