Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
US$1.8billion Cocoa Syndicated Loan to Hit Coffers Early October
Ghana is hopeful of receiving the US$1.8billion cocoa syndicated loan by first week in October, the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has told the B&FT. “We are happy that this loan will reach Ghana come the first week of October, and will open the crop season as well so that we can use it to purchase the crops,” he said. The 11-month facility, with an interest rate of 1.19 percent which was oversubscribed by about 44 percent, will fund the purchase of some 850,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans from licenced buying companies during the 2015/16 crop season. The transfer of money from lenders to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) will help cushion the country’s gross reserves, while helping stabilise the local currency from its depreciation.
Work Progressing on Cocoa Roads in Eastern Region
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere has undertaken an inspection of some work on cocoa roads being constructed in the Region. In June this year, President John Dramani Mahama officially cut the sod for work to start on the US $150 million Cocoa Roads project across the country at Adeiso in the Eastern Region. The project was to rehabilitate roads in cocoa growing areas to enable cocoa farmers to send their cocoa beans and other food crops to the marketing centres. The Regional Minister and a team of engineers from the Ghana Highways Authority and Department of Urban Roads, inspected a five kilometers Suhum township roads under rehabilitation under the project with a 1.8Kilometer drainage system, …
Yara Trains Cocoa Farmers, Extension Officers
Leading fertilizer suppliers, Yara Ghana Ltd. has completed the training of extension officers and cocoa farmers on some useful farming techniques to ensure the maximum potential of cocoa crop are fully utilised. In all 160 extension officers and 1,120 cocoa farmers benefited from the training which forms part of Yara’s Healthier Cocoa Campaign that took place in 16 districts in the Western region. Commenting on the relevance of the campaign, Henry Otoo, Yara Ghana’s Head of Marketing and Business Development said, “The campaign was instituted to ensure that the majority of the farmers in the sector benefit from this unique fertilization program intended to promote high productivity in the cultivation of cocoa…
Cashew Farmers in Sampa Expect Bumper Harvest in Coming years
Cashew farmers in Sampa in the Brong Ahafo Region are optimistic of improve yield and product quality in the coming years, following the introduction of canopy substitution. The method ensures farmers have good production and high quality yield from their farms. Farmers have had low production and quality yields from cashew farming in the past. The trend is changing, and farmers are confident of bumper harvest, giving hopes for improved income. Canopy Substitution Maximizes Crop Yield Canopy substitution is just one of many methods introduced by agriculture experts to maximize farmer benefit from cashew production. It involves cutting old matured trees at the apex and slanting the cut portion at both sides after which the …
CSIR-Crops Research Institute Releases 12 Crop Varieties to Address Climate Change and Malnutrition
The Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has released twelve new crop varieties onto the market. Four cowpea, seven maize varieties and a new rice variety capable to withstand hash weather conditions were released on Friday. The varieties are made up of different types of hybrids that are adapted to the major agro-ecologies especially in these times of climate change challenges. Authorities at the research institute explain that the new varieties are in line with current national issues-climate change and malnutrition…
Oxfam to Implement Climate-resilient Agriculture
Oxfam Ghana has secured funding to implement a three-year Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Food Systems project in some parts of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions. The project, which is expected to end in March 2018, is to benefit 20 selected communities in the East Mamprusi District in the Northern Region, Garu Tempane District in Upper East and Nandom and Daffiama-Issah districts in the Upper West Region. Briefing media practitioners at a three day-training workshop organised by Oxfam in Tamale, Mr. Mohammed-Anwar Sadat Adam, the Economic Justice Programme and Campaign Manager of Oxfam, said Oxfam viewed the role of the media as very critical in implementing the project. He said the training was …
Ghana to Refocus on Cassava to Transform Economy
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr. Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, has said government’s agenda to transform the economy through agriculture, would focus on placing great importance on the cassava value chain. This, he said, was because cassava has great impact on the lives of the rural people, as well as having great potential for industrialization. “Currently, government is considering a policy for high quality cassava flour for use in the food industry,” Mr. Kwetey said, adding that “Government will continue to work with our local and international partners in addressing the challenges facing the cassava value chain”. He was addressing about 150 participants at the opening of a three-day international conference and exhibition on cassava utilization and marketing, which opened in Accra.
Salaga Cassava Factory Collapse Worries Farmers
Farmers of Salaga in the East Gonja district have appealed for government to restore the Salaga Cassava Processing Factory to an operational status to help them to process their farm produce for better market opportunities. The Salaga Cassava Processing Factory has been shut down for the past decade, and its abandonment is said to have worsened joblessness in the district. The factory used to produce cassava dough, gari, chips, flour and starch for the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, but has been closed down due to inadequate financial resources to run the facility. Now the premises of the once-vibrant factory have been taken over by reptiles, insects and rodents, while the surroundings have been turn into latrines by …
Innovate Research Systems to Transform Agriculture - Prof Ellis
Professor William Otto Ellis, Vice Chancellor (VC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has challenged scientists to innovate their research systems to radically transform the nation’s agriculture. This, he said, was the way forward to ensure increased productivity and food security. Prof Ellis was speaking at the opening of the 15th annual general meeting and scientific conference of the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists (GhIH) at the Crops Research Institute of Ghana (CRI) at Fumesua near Kumasi. The two-day meeting is being jointly held with the GhanaVeg under the theme: “Promoting food security in a sustainable environment in Ghana”
Agricultural Value Chain Development in Practice: Private Sector-led Smallholder Development
Value chain development is adopted widely as a private sector–led approach to agricultural development that can benefit smallholders. The objective of this research is to understand how development organizations are conceptualizing and developing agricultural value chains in Ghana to include smallholders. The study is based on case studies of five programs supported by various donors. A typology is employed to categorize the intervention. Common to all the programs are interventions to encourage the development of interlinked vertical contracts between smallholders and buyers and investments to improve the operations of actors downstream. The study explores issues related to expectations, scaling up of activities to reach…
Shea Butter Earning Doubles …Yet Farmers are Unhappy
Export earnings from shea butter products almost doubled last year, making it one of the 10 leading performers in processed/semi-processed products of non-traditional exports in 2014. Receipts from export of the commodity reached GHc52million last year, a 96 percent rise over the GH?26million recorded in 2013. Nonetheless, farmers are unhappy due to what they describe as “government’s neglect” and “lack of support” for a sector they believe holds enormous export potential for the country. “We have never received any form of support from anywhere to help us increase our yield. We need roads, especially bridges, because when it rains we are unable to cross the many water bodies to farms. It is when it rains that the ripe…
Farmers Benefit from Food Security Project
About 10,300 poor and vulnerable farmers from 65 communities in five districts in the Upper East Region are benefiting from food security and livelihood interventions under the Resilient and Sustainable Livelihoods Transformation (RESULT) project. The districts are Bongo, Talensi, Nabdam and Kassena Nankana West, as well as the Kassena Nankana municipality. The six-year project is being funded by the Canadian Government at a cost of 19 million Canadian dollars through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and the Canadian Feed The Children (CFTC) and the Association of Church-Based Development NGOs (ACDEP). Farmers under the project are being assisted in crop and livestock production, aquaculture, dry season farming and income-generating activities.
Ghana Veg Partners Horticulturalists to Solve Challenges in the Sector
The Ghana Veg Program under the International Fertilizer Development Centre is partnering the Ghana Institute of Horticulturalists to proffer solutions to challenges facing the country’s horticulture industry. The use of rudimentary farming tools and poor quality of seedlings are some of the challenges militating against vegetable production. Under the partnership, the Ghana Veg program will offer financial support to researchers to facilitate their activities in the field. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has also introduced the green label certificate which will ensure the production of good vegetables by using best farming practices…
Agric Research Left to Gather Dust
The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor William Otto Ellis, has lamented the long years of failure by the country to realise any meaningful change in the agricultural sector from the immeasurable volumes of research work published and reviewed almost every year on agriculture. The agriculture sector -- touted as the mainstay of Ghana’s economy in times past -- boasts a number of widely recognised academic and research institutions and facilities in almost all parts of the country churning out volumes of literature on the sector yearly. However, notwithstanding the relevance and sheer volumes of research papers published on the sector, as part of efforts to enhance and …
The Forest Services Division (FSD) Takes Steps to Promote Reforestation
The Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission (FC) as part of its push to promote massive reforestation is offering financial support and other incentive packages to get more people to establish tree plantations. Mr. Ebenezer Agyakwa, the Asante-Akim South District Customer Relations Officer of the Division, said they were targeting farmers and private investors. He said anybody who planted an acre of timber species, would receive some form of financial assistance alongside other material rewards. The amount of cash would however, be determined by the size of one’s plantation. They would continue to be paid money every other year as long as the trees were not harvested.
Farmers told to Reduce Aflatoxin in Grains
Mr. Felix Darimaani, National Coordinator for Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) has urged farmers to adopt standard procedure in producing quality grains that are free from aflatoxin. This, he, said would enable them to increase the market value of their produce. He said aflatoxins are metabolic and toxic substances produced by certain fungi that are found in foods including grains. He said aflatoxin could results in many health problems including liver infections and could also cause cancers. Mr. Darimaani was addressing some farmers on Friday at Gushie in the Savelugu/Nanton Municipality in the Northern Region, to sensitise farmers on the best method they could use in producing quality grains.
Farmers in Oil and Gas Enclave want Appreciable Compensation
Farmers in the six coastal districts in the Western Region whose farms were seized for oil and gas projects have complained about inadequate compensation package received from oil and gas companies operating in the catchment area. They bemoaned low compensation package recommended by officials of Land Valuation Division of the Land Commission after the evaluation of crops and other property on their farms destroyed. These concerns came to light at a public forum organized by the Western Region Coastal Foundation (WRCF), a registered company based in Takoradi, to address the expectations of people in the region following the discovery and exploration of oil and gas in commercial quantities. The event brought …
Farmers in Upper East Region Increase Maize and Groundnut Yield
Some small holder famers in the Upper East Region have for the past one year seen an increase in the yield of maize and groundnuts production and a reduction in the mortality of their animals. They achieved this because they had access to certified seeds, improved and sustainable agronomic practices and improved housing and vaccination for their animals. This was made known at a stakeholder’s consultative meeting in Bolgatanga, organized by the Association of Church Development Based NGOs (ACDEP) to discuss the progress of the Resilient and Sustainable Livelihood Transformation (RESULT) project that is being implemented for 10,300 poor small holder farmers in Northern Ghana…
Innovate Research Systems to Transform Agriculture - Prof Ellis
Professor William Otto Ellis, Vice Chancellor (VC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has challenged scientists to innovate their research systems to radically transform the nation’s agriculture. This, he said, was the way forward to ensure increased productivity and food security. Prof Ellis was speaking at the opening of the 15th annual general meeting and scientific conference of the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists (GhIH) at the Crops Research Institute of Ghana (CRI) at Fumesua near Kumasi. The two-day meeting is being jointly held with the GhanaVeg under the theme: “Promoting food security in a sustainable environment in Ghana”.
Insurance for Fishermen to be Launched in December
Plans are set for the government to roll out life insurance policies for fisher folks across the country in December, Ms. Sherry Ayitey, Minister of Fisheries and Aqua-Culture has hinted. She explained that the policy was aimed at cushioning fishermen with payment of compensation in the event of personal accidents or having their working tools damaged during their fishing expeditions. The minister made this known in Cape Coast when she met various stakeholders in the fishing sector in the Central Region, to discuss positive action options to secure and revamp the fishing industry. Although she did not mention which insurance companies are to execute the policy she, said these corporate entities would be visiting the landing beaches…
How Ghana can Help Her Worried Farmers on Climate Change
The raining season has started but I am not sure whether I would be able to farm this year, said Hajia, a rural farmer in the northern region of Ghana. Why? Asked Fali, a colleague farmer from a neighboring town-“Last year, my farm got flooded and I lost all my crops. I have nothing left to sell and pay the Banks for the loan I collected “, Hajia added. “Hmm, you know I cultivate vegetables during the dry season, but there was a sudden drought last year too in my town. For that matter, I couldn’t sow anything. My children are now at home because I cannot afford to pay their school fees”, replied Fali. “I even heard Mr. Agriculture has committed suicide due to his inability to pay his loans to Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) …
AfDB President Speaks at Invest in Ghana Event
African Development Bank’s (AfDB) president, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina would feature among other keynote speakers at this year’s 'Invest in Ghana' event scheduled for the 21st and 22nd of October. Mr. Adesina will join President John Mahama to welcome delegates from around the world to Accra. The AfDB president has lived and worked in 15 African countries including 10 years in Francophone nations during his illustrious career as a development economist. Before being nominated as the President of the African Development Bank, Mr. Adesina successfully led some of the most critical global efforts in support of the development of the agricultural sector.
Reports/Articles
Agricultural Value Chain Development in Practice Private Sector–Led Smallholder Development
Shashidhara Kolavalli, Akwasi Mensah-Bonsu, Saima Zaman - 2015
Value chain development is adopted widely as a private sector–led approach to agricultural development that can benefit smallholders. The objective of this research is to understand how development organizations are conceptualizing and developing agricultural value chains in Ghana to include smallholders. The study is based on case studies of five programs supported by various donors. A typology is employed to categorize the intervention. Common to all the programs are interventions to encourage the development of interlinked vertical contracts between smallholders and buyers and investments to improve the operations of actors downstream. The study explores issues related to expectations, scaling up of activities to reach a …
Institutional Adaptation to Climate Change and Flooding in Accra, Ghana
ANK Komey - 2015
In the wake of climate change and flood severity in Ghana, the government of Ghana has developed a ten year adaptation strategy document (National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy) to assist institutions and stakeholders in addressing the impact of climate change in various sectors of the country. Institutional role has become necessary in tackling flood simply because the success of any adaptation strategies in part depend on the institutional arrangement in place and studies have been conducted to affirm this argument (Agrawal, McSweeney & Perrin, 2008; IPCC 2013). This thesis focuses on an analysis of the document and how it addresses flooding in the wake of climate change. Flooding forms a major disaster that the country as a …
Factors Affecting Agricultural Production in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
BK Abrha - 2015
This study investigates the factors affecting agricultural production of farm households in the National Regional State of Tigray, Ethiopia. The major primary sources of data for the study were farm household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The study revealed that the annual average crop production of respondents was found to be below the standard annual food requirement recommended by the international organizations. The proportion of irrigated land to total cultivated land was only 11per cent. The proportion of irrigated land in the two districts is lower than 11.27 per cent at the regional level. The utilization of chemical fertilizers for the majority of the respondents was below the …
An Econometric Analysis of Food Security Determinants in Malaysia: A Vector Error Correction Model Approach (VECM)
NTA Wahab, SD Applanaidu - Asian Social Science, 2015
Food security issue is getting more attention by world today. Although, Malaysia is a middle income country able to produce her own food, but there is still lack of food supply for domestic needs. This paper thus analyse the factors that affect the food security model in Malaysia during the period of 1982-2011. The analysis in this paper include food production index as food security proxy while the other variables include food prices, Malaysian population, foreign workers and CO2 emission as important determinants of food security. The assessment of the impact of these factors is achieved using the Vector Error Correction Model approach (VECM). The series on the food prices, Malaysian population, foreign workers, CO2 emission and …
Farmers’ Perception and Impact of Rice Yellow Mottle Disease on Rice Yields in Burkina Faso
VSE Traoré, BJ Néya, M Camara, V Gracen, SK Offei… - Agricultural Sciences, 2015
Rice improvement for disease resistance has scarcely involved farmers’ knowledge in Sub-Saharan Africa. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in two main rice cultivation areas in Burkina Faso to assess farmers’ awareness of rice production constraints with emphasis on rice yellow mottle disease (RYMD) and its management. Farmers’ preference for rice varieties to be used in the breeding program was also assessed. Major concerns for rice cultivation as perceived by farmers were water shortage and RYMD. However, relative importance of each constraint depended on the survey areas, RYMD being prominent at Banzon while water shortage predominated at Mogtedo. Mogtedo farmers preferred rice variety FKR19 because of …
Gender Differences in Climate Change Risk, Food Security and Adaptation: A Study of Rural Households’ Reliance on Agriculture and Natural Resources to Sustain Livelihoods
B Tibesigwa, M Visser, L Hunter, M Collinson, W Twine - 2015
Climate and weather variability in sub-Saharan Africa disproportionately leave female-headed households food insecure. However, the extent and reasons for these gender differences are, thus far, not well understood. This study examines gender-food-climate connections using longitudinal data from rural households in north-eastern South Africa. Results confirm gender distinctions in that male-headed households are more food secure. Importantly, however, female-headed households are not a homogenous group. Participation in agriculture and utilisation of natural resources narrows the male-female consumption gap to 10.3% amongst de jure female-headed households - those with female heads who are single, widowed, …
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