Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Agricultural Issues
Ecobank Commits US$7m to Rice, Maize Farming
Ecobank Ghana has committed US$7,000,000 to the production of rice, maize and soya beans in the savannah ecological zones of northern Ghana. The initiative is expected to boost food production and improve the livelihood of farmers within the three northern regions. Mr. Abdul Rahman Abdulai, Head of Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Ecobank Ghana, disclosed this to B&FT on the sideline the 5th Annual Northern Ghana Pre-harvest Agribusiness Forum in Tamale on the theme ‘Discovering opportunities for expansion’. Maize is Ghana’s number-one staple crop, followed by rice; and domestic demand for both is growing. According to a study commissioned by the Millennium Challenge Account Ghana Programme, it is …
Cassava: Game-changer for National Prosperity
Manihot esculenta popularly known as Cassava, has been identified as a very promising crop for both consumption and industrial use. The crop with its economic prospects has been acclaimed the game-changer towards national prosperity and growth. With extensively cultivated throughout the country, Cassava is arguable the third largest source of food carbohydrates after rice and maize. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Root of cassava contains vitamin C and vitamins of the B group and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. Nigeria is the largest manufacturer, while Thailand is the largest exporter of cassava in the world. In Ghana, Cassava is a major staple food in almost every …
Ending Poverty in a Rising Africa
Africa’s rate of extreme poverty fell from 56% in 1990 to 43% in 2012. But because of population increases, an estimated 63 million more people live in extreme poverty in Africa today than in 1990. A new World Bank report, “Poverty in a Rising Africa,” shows that these numbers don’t tell the whole story of a region that has seen strong economic growth in the last few decades and made great progress despite challenges. The dramatic drop in global poverty over the last two decades has been called the “best news in the world today” by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. But in sub-Saharan Africa, the story is mixed. The World Bank estimates show that the rate of extreme poverty fell in the region from 56% in 1990 to…
Cocoa Farmers Advised to Spray Farms
Mr. Randy Nkrumah, District Manager of the Duakwa Depot of Cocoa Merchant Company in the Central Region, Wednesday said the inability of some cocoa farmers to spray their farms has resulted in some farms being infested with the capsid virus. “The circumstances, which often leads to some cocoa farms being infested with the capsid virus that destroy cocoa beans, is the deliberate refusal of some farmers to have their farms sprayed”, he said. The District Manager of Cocoa Merchant Company, a Licensed Buying Company (LBC), was addressing a periodic meeting of some cocoa farmers, who do business with the company at Duakwa in the Agona West District. He said cocoa farmers would increase their yield in the 2015/16 Main Crop …
COCOBOD, LBCs Tussle Over Directive
Some cocoa licenced buying companies (LBCs) have called on the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the industry regulator, to reconsider its decision to accept seed-fund guarantees from only universal banks. COCOBOD on January 16, 2014 issued a directive to all LBCs that it will not accept guarantees issued by non-bank financial institutions, as well as insurance companies, for cocoa purchasing operations with effect from January 16, 2014. The directive is said to have been informed by the default rate among some of the small-scale LBCs with guarantees from non-universal banks. COCOBOD sources syndicated loans from the international finance market, and then local financial institutions guarantee seed funds for the LBCs to enable them procure cocoa beans for onward export through the COCOBOD…
Canadian Organisation to Improve Food Security in Ghana
Ms. Debra Kerby, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Feed the Children (CFTC) is to launch innovative interventions in line with the priorities of Ghana to improve food security. She said the innovation, which would start next year is part of a new strategic direction to roll out a multi -year programme with emphasis on food security, aspects of climate change, and gender equality. Ms. Kerby made this known in an interview with journalists at Yebango in Sumbrungu in the Bolgatanga Municipality where she paid a working visit to communities being supported by her outfit through Trade Aid Integrated, a local NGO. She said her outfit is currently working with local partners in the region under a two- year project to complete market…
Agribusiness is the Future for Africa - AfDB President
Dr. Akiwumi Ayodeji Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has said Africa’s future depends on agriculture as a business and, therefore, urged African governments to focus on building the agribusiness industry. He said the three key ways to reign in poverty on the African continent were to ensure inclusive growth; increase education; and ensure productivity in agriculture. Mr. Adesina made the statements during a panel discussion at the Legon Shared Prosperity Forum held in Accra and moderated by the BBC’s Lerato Mbele. He explained that it was important to focus on agriculture as a business and not just a development activity. He stated that Nigeria implemented an agro-business…
Sumbrungu Basket Weavers Appeal for Educational Facility
Female basket weavers at Sumbrungu, a suburb of the Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region, have made a passionate appeal to two organisations to facilitate the provision of a basic school for their children. Numbering about 75, the women made the appeal to the Canadian Feed the Children (CFTC), a donor agency concerned about the welfare of children, and the TradeAid Integrated, a local non-governmental organisation operating in the region. TradeAid, with support from the CFTC, provided them with a new GH¢76,000.00 crafts centre in March this year at Sumbrungu. They made the appeal when the President and Chief Executive Officer of the CFTC, Madam Debra Kerby, and Mr. Sohel Khan, a Senior Advisor of Food Security and Environmental Sustainability of the CFTC, visited them at the centre …
Experts Decry Lack of Data on Food-poisoning
The lack of data on food-poisoning in the country seriously impedes efforts to contain the growing cases of food-poisoning and food-borne diseases in the country. Johnson Opoku Boateng, Principal Consultant Quality Assurance Consult said: “In Ghana, we don’t have the stats as we have in the United States, and so we are not able to know the quantum of food-poisoning that happens. But the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows that one in six Americans get sick from eating contaminated food. “It is very important for government to take this very seriously. The Food and Drugs Authority and other public health institutions must ensure that just as we have accident statistics year in year out, we should also have statistics on food-poisoning and other food-borne illnesses so that we know what preventive measures to take as a country,” he said at the end of training for Chefs and Cooks of Joecarl Hotel in Tema
ADB Pays over ¢700,000 Transaction Fees to Get IPO Through
ADB has had to pay as much as 710,000 cedis so far in legal and transaction fees in a bid to roll out its Initial Public Offer (IPO) successfully. Despite its monetary efforts the bank has still been unable to get the IPO through. Documents cited by Citi Business News reveal the bank paid IC Securities, transaction advisors for the IPO a whopping 500, 000 cedis for their services while as much 210,000 cedis was paid to Messers Lithur Brew for legal services rendered for the bank. The bank was hit with several law suits following its announcement that it wanted to go public. Persons who had dragged it to court had questioned why the bank had failed to get parliamentary approval for the offer…
We Won’t Buy Illegal Fish from Fishermen’
The National Fish Processors Traders Association (NFPTA) has declared that it would not patronise illegal fishes, which have been purchased by canoe fishermen from fishing vessels at sea. Mrs. Constance Mensah, the Western Regional Treasurer of the NFPTA, who was speaking at a stakeholders’ forum on Fisheries, held at Takoradi to find solutions to the dwindling fish catch across the country, said ‘their stance would discourage the practice, known as ‘Saiko’. Saiko is the practice of fishing vessels using unauthorized and undersized nets to catch small fishes and arranging through their agents for canoe fishermen to buy them at seas. Mrs. Mensah said the practice was against the Fisheries Regulations and had also contributed largely to …
Empower Chief Fishermen to Check Indiscipline-Fishermen
Executive Members of the Canoe Fishermen Association at Axim have stated that leaders of the Association across the country were capable of eliminating illegalities practised by fishermen in order to promote the fisheries sector. They, therefore, urged the government to re-empower Chief Fishermen and their executives to take charge of affairs as it was previously practised, since the present intervention by government was not succeeding. They made the call when journalists embarked on a field trip to the Axim landing sites, as part of a two-day outreach workshop on the promotion of the fisheries sector. The workshop which was organized by the Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP), aimed at finding solution to Ghana’s …
Depletion of Forest Cover Continues at Alarming Rate – Report
The Ghana Millennium Development Goals 2015 report by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) indicates that the depletion of the country’s forest cover continues at an alarming rate. According to the report, Ghana has a total forest area of 9.2 million hectares made up of 1.79 million hectares of close forest and 7.4 million hectares of open forest. It said Ghana lost 2.51 million hectares (or 33.70 per cent) of its forest cover between 1990 and 2010, representing a 2.03 per cent average annual loss over the period. The report, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday by the NDPC, observed that the rate of deforestation dropped marginally from 1.99 per cent in 1990-2000 to 1.97 per cent in…
UNDP to Support Women Farmers in Two Regions with US$50,000
The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) has announced a US$50,000 support package for women-farmer groups in two selected regions – Brong-Ahafo and Northern, to increase food production. Mr. George Ortsin, the National Programme Coordinator, said the intervention was meant to fight rural poverty and boost food security. He announced this at durbar held at Bipoa, a farming community in the Sekyere West District, to celebrate this year’s “International day of rural women”. The event was organized to recognize the tremendous contribution of women to the nation’s agriculture. It brought together farmers from across the 10 regions and the theme chosen was “The international year of soil and women access,…
UNDP Collaborates with Local NGO to Restore Forest Reserve
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the Save Our Environment Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, is implementing a $42,100 dollar afforestation project in the Tano South District of Brong-Ahafo Region. The 18-month project, is aimed at enhancing the resilience capacity of the forest fringe communities within the Tinte Bepo East Forest Reserve. It is also supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Small Grant Programme (SGP) of the UNDP. Under the project, more than 100 farmers at New Brosankro, Old Brosankro and Kwasu, the forest fringe communities in the District would be empowered to nurse about 100,000 varieties of tree species seedlings…
Don’t Buy Palm Oil on the Market – FDA warns
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is warning against the consumption of palm oil sold on the market across the country. The Authority has currently heightened its market surveillance after discovering oil samples picked from ten markets in the Greater Accra Region contained highly dangerous textile dye which causes cancer. The FDA in a statement said it randomly sampled 50 palm oil. “The results showed that 98% of the palm oil tested positive to Sudan IV dye. Following up, the FDA on Tuesday, 20th October, 2015 in collaboration with the Narcotics Division of the Ghana Police Service apprehended some dealers suspected to be involved in this practice and confiscated…
Reports/Articles
Land Degradation is Indicative: Proxies of Forest Land Degradation in Ghana
K Peprah - Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management, 2015
How is land degradation measured? The aim of the paper is to address this research question. At the premise, the paper states that land degradation as one of the truth claims of environmental science, is not directly monitored and detectable. Observers rely on indicators to know land degradation. The issues are illuminated by theoretical reference based on the notion of critical political ecology which tries combine realist biophysical predictions and socio-political constructions. A methodology which mixes literature review, group discussion and field work produces a set of indicators of land degradation. Indigenous farmers used the indicators to spot land degradation in the forest ecosystem of Ghana. The results reveal physical…
Impact of Improved Cassava Varieties’ Adoption on Farmers’ Incomes in Rural Ghana
Using data from 450 cassava farmers from three districts, the paper uses a non-parametric propensity score matching (PSM) technique to investigate the impact on men and women farmers’ incomes by adopting improved cassava varieties. The Average treatment effect (ATT) estimates suggested that participation in improved cassava varieties increased total crop incomes of women by ₵3173 (USD 1823) whilst that of men was increased by ₵149 (USD 86) per hectare. The findings offer justification for sustained public investment in cassava research and dissemination in Ghana…
Impact of Agriculture, Urban and Forest Land Use on Physico-Chemical Properties of Water A Review
A Chauhan, SC Verma - Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci, 2015
The land use within the watershed has great impact on the surface water quality. The water quality may degrade due to change in the land cover patterns within the watershed as human activity increase. Land use impacts water quality through non-point sources, which are major contributor of pollution to surface and ground water that are difficult to regulate. Water pollution is any human-caused contamination of water that reduces its usefulness to humans and other organisms in nature. Land useis likely to effect the hydrological cycle in terms of both water quantity and quality. It affects the rates of runoff, infiltration, water quality and vegetation of the watersheds. Surface waters like streams and lakes are not the only water…
Arrangements in Developing Agricultural Markets: Contract Farming In Sub-Saharan Africa
E Cieślik - ACTA SCIENTIARUM POLONORUM, 2015
Smallholder farmers in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa have begun to participate in global supply chains through applying contract farming (CF). The main aims of this paper are: to present a typology of CF and to describe the contract farming in Sub-Saharan African countries. This article has synthesised the findings from contract farming agreements in Sub-Saharan African countries to form a conceptual framework of the determinants and dynamics of farmers’ participation in CF agreements. This article can be treated as an introduction to a complex comparative study of the Sub-Saharan African CF schemes and may spur further integrative analysis of the transformation in agriculture in developing countries...
The Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda
UN Women - 2015
Women form a large proportion of the agricultural labor force in Sub-Saharan Africa and thus play a vital role in ensuring family nutrition and food security. In Eastern and Southern Africa, agriculture continues represents a critical source of income and ensures food security and nutrition. However, as has been widely documented, gender-based inequalities in resources inhibit agricultural productivity and reduce food security. A new study measuring the economic costs of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in three African countries “Malawi, the United Republic of Tanzania (hereafter Tanzania), and Uganda…
Gender and Resilience
The contribution that external interventions make to individual, household and community resilience to climate extremes and disasters will largely depend on the suitability of those activities to the local context and the extent to which implementing agencies address existing social dynamics and power relations. Exploring the gender dimension of resilience to disasters and climate change encourages researchers and practitioners working in these fields to focus on people’s different relationships to the environment and access to resources. It also encourages them to assess how projects aimed at managing risk and building resilience are affected by social norms, including those pertaining to gender-based inequalities.
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