Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Give Priority to Fruits and Vegetables Cultivation
The Reverend Dr. Hans Adu-Dapaah, former Director of the Crop Research Institute (CRI), has underlined the need to make deliberate efforts to promote the cultivation of fruits and vegetables to boost the economy. He said this area of agriculture had the potential to not only significantly increase food production and food security but could create wealth for farmers and other people in the agricultural production value chain. Dr. Adu-Dapaah told the 15th annual general meeting and scientific conference of the Ghana Institute of Horticulturists (GhIH) at Fumesua, near Kumasi, that the importance of horticulture to Ghana and its people should not be overlooked. He said he found it quite disheartening that horticulture had over the years remained largely ignored, adding that, its role and contribution towards efforts at promoting food security and poverty reduction was yet to be fully recognized…
Ghana Bans Export of some Vegetables to EU Market
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), has placed a temporary ban on exports of some vegetables to the European Union market. The ban would remain in place until all issues on interceptions by the Food and Vegetable Office (PVO) of the European Commission (EC) are addressed. The affected vegetables include; Capsicum, Solanum species- Aubergines, Momordica, Luffa and Lagenaria (gourd family) which accordingly have undesired consequences for the country’s export vegetable sector. Mr. Fiifi Kwetey the sector Minister who announced this at a news conference in Accra said, the Plant Protection and Regulatory Directorate (PPRSD) of MoFA) is also to ban exporters of fresh vegetables not belonging to registered associations or …
CABI and MoFA Initiate Project to Salvage Horticulture Industry
The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, (CABI) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) have launched a four-year initiative aimed at salvaging the dying horticulture industry in Ghana. The project, which is being sponsored with a 50 per cent grant from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security (FDOV), and another 50 per cent from Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) support, is to help address the frequent interceptions of harmful organisms on fruits and vegetables exported to the European Union from Ghana. The project also seeks to work towards increasing horticulture exports through phytosanitary system development, knowledge sharing and infrastructure development, compliance with international standards and attraction of financial intermediation for the chain actors…
More Women Farmers Receive Support
About 4,500 farmers, mostly women, from the northern sector of the country have received an assistance from Oxfam, a British charity organisation, to improve their livelihood. The women have been enrolled onto the Climate Resilience Agricultural and Food Systems (CRAFS) to improve their crops yields. CRAFS, a three-year project is being implemented by Oxfam Ghana, aimed at improving agribusiness activities to reduce the importation of food as well as to encourage more youths into agriculture which is the backbone of the economy. This came to light at the closing ceremony of a three-day training workshop for some selected media practitioners, farmers and other agronomic in Tamale organised and funded by Oxfam Ghana…
Cocoa Farmers Appeal for More Spraying Machines
Cocoa farmers in the Nsawam – Adoagyiri Municipality of the Eastern Region, at the weekend appealed to the Health and Extension Unit of the Cocoa Services Department to increase the number of spraying machine in the area. Making the appeal through the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Opanin Kwasi Akuffo, Chief Farmer for the Produce Buying Company Limited (PBC) society shed at Nsawam, said one spraying machine for the whole municipality was woefully inadequate. He said most of the farmers in the municipality did not benefit from this year’s cocoa spraying exercise, dubbed CODAPEC, because there was only one machine for the spraying gang, inhibiting them to carry out the exercise effectively…
COCOBOD Announces Closure of Crop Season
The Ghana Cocoa Board has announced that the purchases of the 2014/2015 Cocoa crop season will end by close of business on Wednesday September 30. The statement signed by Mr. James Kofi Kutsoati, Deputy Chief Executive, Operations, advised all licensed buying companies to wind up all operational activities before the opening of the 2015/2016 main crop season.
Poor Extension Services Hinder Aquaculture in Ashanti
Poor extension services have become a huge drawback on efforts at developing the enormous aquaculture potentials in the Ashanti Region. Mr. Francis Akorlor, the Regional Fisheries Director, confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi and acknowledged that the outcomes of exploitation of fisheries resources - actual number of fishermen, landing, gear in use and processing methods among other activities also remained largely unrecorded because of inadequate field staff. Other challenges include high cost of pond construction, unaffordable feed prices, shoddy construction of ponds and eroded dykes. Mr. Akorlor said the region’s excellent conditions for fisheries development was not in doubt and cited its …
Minister Advocates Appointment of Chief Scientists to Ministries
Mr. Mahama Ayariga, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), has advocated the appointment of chief scientists to all ministries to advice ministers on scientific issues for rapid transformation of the economy. He said countries such as Israel had chief scientists attached to every ministry to give scientific advice and conduct research into scientific issues to ensure that they were well understood for effective implementation. Speaking at a Consultative Meeting on the Advisory, Management and Funding of the National Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) System in Ghana, Mr. Ayariga said Ghana’s progress would be slow unless it applied science, technology and innovation to effect rapid ….
KNUST Introduces Pilot E-learning Project
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has rolled out a pilot project in three of its colleges as it introduces a shift from the traditional system of teaching to electronic learning. The e-learning, which is currently being implemented at the Colleges of Arts and Built Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Science, is to help solve congestion problem in lecture halls and aid students to access knowledge and participate in lectures at any place. A multi-purpose e-learning centre, which was built by the university and inaugurated early this year aided with an update of its ICT policies, and expanded services, is also to assist lecturers to deliver their lecture notes anywhere, including…
Reports/Articles
Sustainability of Cocoa Farmers’ Livelihoods: A Case Study of Asunafo District, Ghana
K Peprah - Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2015
The study aims at examining the sustainability of cocoa farmer livelihood. Emphasis was laid on investigation of factors that increase or derail the sustainability of cocoa farmer livelihood. Quantitative and qualitative data were sourced from relevant state institutions and 264 farmers drawn from 774. The results indicate that cocoa farmer livelihood provides larger secondary livelihoods for labour-sellers, petty traders and staff of cocoa marketing companies. The cocoa farmer livelihood is facing threats from the newly oil found, service and industry. The initial capital assets invested in cocoa farming were poor. The study concludes that farmers are made vulnerable by land degradation, corruption in the internal cocoa marketing and inflation. Consequently, incomes (savings) and capital assets are not able to increase as spelt out in the Sustainable Livelihood Framework analysis.
Factors Influencing the Use of Selected Inputs in Yam Production in Nigeria and Ghana
DB Mignouna, T Abdoulaye, AA Akinola, A Alene… - Journal of Agriculture and …, 2015
In West Africa, yam can be an important crop to reduce poverty and hunger if Research and Development measures identify and properly engage its key production factors for enhanced outputs and better income. Data from 1400 households in Ghana and Nigeria were collected in a multistage random sampling survey (and complementary data from 76 farm family fields) with a structured questionnaire and qualitative interview questions. The results showed that yam is produced mainly with crude inputs/technologies to reduce high dependence on labour, seed production and control of pests and diseases. Yam is produced widely with purchased inputs including seed yam and hired labour; chemical fertiliser, herbicide and pesticides are less often used. Analyses of determinants of use of purchased inputs reveal three serious impediments to expansion in yam production: the increasing scarcity and high cost of hired labour…
Tracking Crop Varieties Using Genotyping-by-sequencing Markers: A Case Study Using Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz)
IY Rabbi, PA Kulakow, JA Manu-Aduening, AA Dankyi… - BMC Genetics, 2015
Accurate identification of crop cultivars is crucial in assessing the impact of crop improvement research outputs. Two commonly used identification approaches, elicitation of variety names from farmer interviews and morphological plant descriptors, have inherent uncertainty levels. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used in a case study as an alternative method to track released varieties in farmers’ fields, using cassava, a clonally propagated root crop widely grown in the tropics, and often disseminated through extension services and informal seed systems. A total of 917 accessions collected from 495 farming households across Ghana were genotyped at 56,489 SNP loci along with a “reference library” of 64 accessions of released…
High Trade Costs and Their Consequences: An Estimated Dynamic Model of African Agricultural Storage and Trade
OC Porteous - 2015
How large are trade costs in the world’s poorest countries and what are their consequences? I explore this question using a new dataset of monthly prices and production of 6 staple grains from 2003 to 2013 in 230 market catchment areas covering all 42 countries of continental sub-Saharan Africa. I estimate and solve a dynamic model of monthly storage and trade under uncertainty including storage in each of the 230 markets, overland trade between 413 pairs of markets, and trade with the world market through 30 ports. I then re-solve the model for a counterfactual scenario in which trade costs are lowered to match transportation costs in the rest of the world. I find median intra-national trade costs over 5 times higher than …
The PESTLE Dynamics in Tea Trade: Effects on Return to the Farmer and Sustainability of the Smallholder Tea Enterprise
SI Ng'ang'a - 2015
Tea plays an important role in Kenya as it contributes about 26% of foreign exchange earnings and supports approximately five million people. Since independence, the Tea Industry has experienced rapid growth in acreage under tea production and in both export volumes and incomes. The smallholder tea sub-sector accounts for about 60% of the Kenyan tea production. Despite this state, the cost of production has also been on the increase. However, even as the percentage return to the farmer by Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has been shown to be on the rise, it is not clear how the net earnings to the smallholder tea farmer has been affected by the various macroeconomic factors which incidentally are beyond her or his control …
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