Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Media Reports
Rise of Sweet Potato Farming in Ghana
This season, the majority of farmers in Nabdam, Ghana, have decided to take up large scale cultivation of orange flesh sweet potato. The farmers drawn from several communities declared their intention at a Stakeholders Platform Forum, organized by the Participatory Action for Rural Development Alternatives (PARDA) on the theme”Orange Flesh Sweet Potato Production, Consumption, Processing and Marketing for Enhanced Households Food Security”. PARDA, a Non-Governmental Organization working in rural areas in Northern Ghana in the area of Community Agriculture Intensification and Food Security (CAIFS), with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, increased the farmers' capacity in orange flesh sweet potato storage technology during the 2015 crop season and this led to the increase of the crop production…
Agricultural Manufacturing Group (AMG) to Revolutionize Cereal Production in Ghana
Cereal production is undoubtedly an essential element in increasing the breadbasket of a country most especially, an emerging economy like Ghana. To this end there have been several calls for a special focus on increasing the capacity of small holder farmers as well as peasant farmers as a means of boosting food security. This growing need has been reiterated at a training session, organized under the auspices of the Agricultural Manufacturing Group (AMG) in the Upper East Regional capital, Bolgatanga for 150 farmers and extension officers to enlighten them on the importance of using quality fertilizers for higher yields. In his remarks, the Bolgatanga Municipal Director of Agriculture, Mr. Apinya Dominic emphasized the importance for farmers to invest in high quality fertilizer for more yield and commended AMG for organizing such an event. The farmers were taken through the use of NPK 25-10-10 by the General Manager of AMG during which he stressed the need for cereal farmers to apply fertilizers with higher nitrogen content. Sales and Marketing Manager of AMG Dorothy Opoku stated that “cereal production the world over has seen significant improvement in yield per unit area. In most of these countries, the secrets to crop production have been unraveled to as many farmers as possible “she said...
Government, AFD signs €37.5m for Infrastructure Projects in Kumasi
Government has signed a €37.5million credit facility with the French government through the Agence Française de Development (AFD) for infrastructure development in Kumasi. Through the agreement, AFD will provide the concessional loan facility to complete the upgrading of major road and drainage infrastructure in Kumasi. The funds will be used to finalise two projects in the capital of the Ashanti Region – the Kumasi by-pass project (construction of the Oforikrom-Asokwa by-pass and Lake Road) and the Second Urban Environmental and Sanitation Project (UESP II). This is expected to reduce traffic jams and save time for commuters’ in line with the objective of boosting economic activities in the region. Mona Quartey, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, signing the agreement in Accra, assured the French government of Ghana’s unflinching commitment to the tenets of the bilateral cooperation between the country and France and that government will continue with efforts of pursuing prudent policies aimed at stabilising the economy and increasing the pace of economic transformation….
Agricultural Mechanisation: Magic wand to transform SADA Zone - CSOS
The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) operating within the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) zone have passionately advocated mechanization of agriculture within the enclave as the surest way to unlock the huge agribusiness potential in that part of the country. It says the weather pattern coupled with other indicators within the northern savannah ecological zone makes mechanization such as irrigation largely inevitable, if policy-makers want to ride on agriculture as the key economic driver for the desired socioeconomic revolution of the SADA zone. To buttress its advocacy, the Coalition said the 2016 SADA Commercial Agricultural Investment Guide alludes to the fact that “most crops cultivated in the zone do well under irrigation as compared to rain fed. For instance, rice production per season under rain fed yields around 25,000 metric tonnes in the zone but it has the potential to produce 4.1million mt under irrigation, adding the zone has the potential to develop about 23 irrigation sites.” Mr. Bismark Adongo Ayorogo, Executive Secretary of the Coalition made these remarks during a consultative forum at Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo Region. The meeting, sponsored by USAID was designed to…
10 million Hybrid Cocoa Seedlings Distributed
Over 10 million hybrid cocoa seedlings have been freely distributed to farmers across the Eastern Region as part of efforts to raise the crop’s production level. The Cocoa Health Education Division (CHED) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), spearheading the distribution has targeted to supply 60 million high-yielding seedlings to cocoa growers nationwide the nation during this year’s planting season. Mr. Kwadwo Osei, Deputy Regional Manager of the Cocobod told farmers’ at Asubone-Rails, near Nkawkaw which attracted more than 600 farmers and provided the platform to discuss ways of increasing cocoa production in the area. Mr. Osei urged the farmers to support and cooperate with the district task force, set up to oversee the distribution of inputs – agro-chemicals and fertilizers to them, adding that the Cocobod was determined to ensure that the supply of these inputs were done in a more open, fair and transparent manner. He advised the farmers to properly apply the agro-chemicals to achieve the intended outcomes – control the black pod and capsid diseases as well as raise crop yield….
Ghana Take Giant Steps to Boost Cocoa Production
Ghana’s effort at increasing its cocoa production has taken a giant step forward with the establishment of 20 Rural Service Centres (RSCs) to aid farmers adopt best farm management practices to raise the per hectare yield. The Centres spread across 14 districts in the cocoa belt – Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Western and Central Regions, are an integral part of the Cocoa Rehabilitation and Intensification Programme (CORIP), implemented by Solidaridad together with Cocobod, the International Fertilizer Development Company and other private sector partners. They serve as one stop shop for comprehensive range of services - training farmers on best agronomic practices, assisting them to rehabilitate their farms, renew farms through complete seedlings replanting or canopy substitution through grafting of aged trees. Added to these is the retaining of inputs – fertilizers, herbicides, tools and irrigation system. Mr. Eric Agyare, Programme Manager of CORIP Ghana, said the goal was to substantially raise the average per hectare yield from the…
Farmers Want Fertilizers by April
Small-scale farmers in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern regions are asking government to make available fertilizers and other farm input to them in April each year. The farmers said they were also interested in knowing the sources and manufacturing firms as well as the quality of the fertilizers provided them. They explained that some fertilizers provided farmers rather hindered the growth of crops and affected yields, while government subsidised fertilizers came late and brought no benefit to them. The Upper West Regional Farmers Based Organisation Network raised those concerns at a training workshop on Agriculture Policy and Advocacy in Wa, sponsored by USAID. “Subsidised fertilizers are not reaching small scale farmers. We are also neglected in the allocation of tractors and we are unable to expand our acreages and production,” Mr. Anthony T. Ngmentome, the Chairman of the Network, said. He said the denial in allocation of tractors and other farm machinery was affecting their operations and livelihoods and needed to be …
Samba Foods Makes steady progress
The listing of Samba Foods Limited on the Ghana Stock Exchange is helping the Ghanaian-owned indigenous food processing and preservation business, which specialises in condiments and seasoning, to steadily progress. Addressing stakeholders at its First annual General Meeting, Mrs. Leticia Osafo-Addo, the Managing Director of the company, said the move had also helped the Company to rebrand, acquire a state of the art plant and machinery and reorganise operations to up their production capacity. Mrs. Osafo-Addo said embracing food safety systems and the validation of product procedures had also contributed immensely to their healthy financial results. She said that Samba was collaborating with research institutions both in Ghana and abroad to develop new products for the retail and export market, announcing that, “These products will be launched before the end of the year”. The Small-Scale Enterprise is popular for its shito, creamy peanut butter and soft drinks. The company is also into farming and the production of spices. Mrs. Osafo-Addo said the goal of the Company was to become a leading food processing and preservation company in Ghana and the Sub-region. It already exports some of its products…
Ghana Making Efforts to Increase Investment in Science
Ghana is making efforts to meet the African Union’s recommendation to member states to allocate at least one per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to scientific research. Mr. Mahama Ayariga, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), who said this, put Ghana’s current investment in Science and Technology at between 0.2 and 0.5 per cent of GDP. The African Union in a resolution in 1980, stipulated the threshold for investment, in its Lagos Plan of Action. The Minister made the statement in a speech, read by his deputy, Dr Alfred Sugri Tia, to commemorate this year’s Scientific Renaissance of Africa Day, hosted by the Water Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, (CSIR) in Accra. Ghana’s theme for the year is: “Sustainable Water Resources Management in Ghana”. The African Union set aside June 30, in 1987, to annually create awareness about the importance of Science, Technology and Innovation for national development in the various ….
Fruit Flies Invade Farms in Volta Region
Fruit flies have invaded high value horticultural crop farms across the Volta Region. The greatly affected districts are Afadjato South, Kadjebi, Jasikan, South Tongu, North Tongu, Ketu North, Ketu South and Akatsi South. The flies attack the crops by piercing and laying eggs in them with the spots shrinking slightly. In Afadjato South the infestation has caused mango fruits, oranges and vegetables to get ripe and fall prematurely with worms in them. Resource-poor and commercial farmers in the district told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of a Plant Health Rally in the communities that since 2014, they had lost over 70 per cent yield to the attack by the flies. Thomas Akplu, a farmer at Liati, said despite using pesticides, he could not harvest a single fruit from his garden egg and cabbage farms. Another farmer, Justine Prica, 54, at Liati Agbonyra said she lost two acres of pepper and okro to the attack by the flies. Frank Obranie, at Ve-Dafor said he only got shade from mangoes he planted at home because the flies destroyed the fruits in …
Acreages of Hope: Agriculture, Unemployment & Public Policy [Article]
In the last five years (2011-2015) Ghana has spent a whopping GH¢34.1b (USD 8.7b) importing processed foods, vegetable products and live animals (and related products), as data from Ghana Statistical Service (DIMTS Report, 2015) Shows. Our food import have increased progressively over the period (see Fig. 1) to compensate for supply deficits on the local market, compounding the already dire inflationary pressures that has become a bane for Ghana’s monetary authorities. As of Q4 2015 Agriculture’s contribution to GDP was 28.3%, with Industry taking 22.1% and Services, 49.6%. Agriculture’s declining contribution (overall) to GDP over the last five years (See Fig. 2) has been occasioned by a complex interplay of factors; migration, policy inconsistency, insufficient forward integration and the lack of a comprehensive national agro-processing strategy, inter alia. As a result growth over the years has been dismal, at best. Declining fortunes in the agric. sector has also in turn impacted negatively on in-country migration patterns. According to Ghana Living Standards Survey 6, Greater Accra has the highest percentage of in-migrants (38.6%) compared to some regions within the agrarian belts such as …
ADB Bank Adds 43 Branches to its Saturday Banking
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it will commence Saturday banking with forty-two of its branches across the country from July 2, 2016. This, according to management is part of efforts to provide expedient, accessible and comfortable banking services to its customers. Already, 13 branches provide this service and the inclusion of the 43 brings the total to 56, the number of branches engaged in Saturday banking business. With the exception of the first Saturdays of every month, which is expected to be observed as a National Sanitation Day the bank will open its doors to customers every other Saturday. According to the Managing Director, Mr. Daniel Asiedu the expansion of the bank’s Saturday Banking is in response to “new business opportunities and the wish of management to satisfy the banks customers across the country” “We want to ensure that both our existing and prospective customers enjoy the best banking services at all times, hence our decision to increase the number from the present 13 to …
Prices of Cassava Decline by 14 Percent in June
Despite the significant increases recorded between April and May this year, the price of cassava is reported to be declining at the various markets. Figures released by Esoko Ghana for the first week in July showed that the price of the produce recorded the highest drop in price of four percent. Three to four tubers of cassava are now selling at 6 cedis 90 pesewas. This is the fourth consecutive time that the price of the commodity has dropped. The price of the commodity declined from 8 cedis for three to four tubers at the beginning of June, to 7 cedis 20 pesewas for the same quantity as at the last week in June. The prices of a medium size tin of groundnut and soyabean, also dropped by 4 percent each for the first week in July. While a medium size tin of groundnut is selling at 13 cedis 70 pesewas the same quantity of soyabean is selling at 5 cedis 90 pesewas. Meanwhile …
Report/Articles
Evaluation of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
S Anderson, F Khan, C Robledo, C Roth - 2016
The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) was approved in 2011 and builds on a CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change. It is led by CIAT and engages all CGIAR centres. CCAFS is one of the largest CRPs, with annual budgets around USD 60–70 million and the largest proportion of Window 1 and Window 2 funding. During the first three years (2011-2014) the total expenditure of the Program was USD 257 million. CCAFS addresses the challenges of that global warming poses on food security and agricultural producers, production systems, and policies and institutions. The Program goal is to “promote a foodsecure world through the provision of science-based efforts that support sustainable agriculture and enhance livelihoods while adapting to climate change and conserving natural resources and environmental services”. It is currently organized in four …
Water Use Productivity and Food Security among Smallholder Homestead Food Gardening and Irrigation Crop Farmers in North West Province, South Africa
C Tshwene, I Oladele - Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International …, 2016
The study analysed water use productivity among smallholder homestead food gardening and irrigation crop farmers in the North West province, South Africa due to the fact that home gardening and irrigation constitute the most important rural development investment strategies that can have direct impact on poverty alleviation and food security. Using a large sample size technique of n > 30, 160 gardeners were selected for the study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and subjected to analysis using SPSS. Frequency counts and percentages were used to describe demographics. Multiple regressions were also used to identify determinants. Majority (68%) of the home gardeners have high water use productivity while 74% of those with high water use productivity are food secure. Five out of sixteen variables were significant, with three being significant at 5% (t = -2.443, p =.016), social participation (t = 2.599, p = .010), marketing outlets (t = 2.810, p = .006), while two variables were significant at 10% (home food security (t= -1.777, p = .078) and attitude (t = -1.727, p = .086). The study concludes with the need to incorporate the significant factors affecting water use productivity into food security policy agenda…
Reducing Grain Storage Losses in Developing Countries
FE Dowell, CN Dowell - Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods, 2016
We investigated the use of insecticide-treated material and modified atmosphere storage for reducing insect damage in stored maize. Results showed that insecticide-treated netting and insecticide-treated seed bags protected grain from insect damage, with the treated seed bags protecting grain for up to nine months if the grain was free from insects before storing. Covering the opening of grain storage containers with treated netting provided good control of stored-grain insects and may offer additional protection for grain silos being promoted in developing countries. Neither treated bags nor netting provided control if the grain contained insects before storage, thus emphasising the need to provide some means of controlling initial infestations at the time of storage when using bags or netting. We also showed that good control of insects can be achieved if the grain is stored in air-tight rigid containers that cannot be penetrated by insects or rodents. Hermetic plastic bags were readily penetrated by insects and rodents, thus negating their ability to protect grain from …
Big Data and Smallholder Farmers: Big Data Applications in the Agri-Food Supply Chain in Developing Countries
I Protopop①a, A Shanoyan - 2016
The potential of big data (BD) applications in agriculture is attracting a growing interest from food and agribusiness industry players, researchers, and policy makers. Possible gains in agricultural productivity and supply chain efficiency from BD-based solutions can help address the challenge of doubling the food supply by 2050. Most of the research in this area evolves around commercial agricultural production in developed countries with relatively limited attention to BD-based solutions focused on smallholder farms in developing countries. This paper provides an overview of the existing and emerging technologies that can potentially enhance the BD application in the agribusiness value chain in developing countries, and presents a discussion of four successful cases of BD applications targeting smallholder producers. This paper also highlights drivers and barriers for smallholder oriented BD applications in the agri-food supply chain in developing countries and discusses related implications for policy makers, private industry, and NGOs …
The Four Legged Chair Benign or Detrimental Institutional Environments for GM crops
E de Bakker, MJ Bogaardt, M van der Werff… - 2016
This paper explores whether GM crops are a feasible option in the light of social conditions that determine a successful and satisfying deployment of such crops. We use the new institutional economics framework of Williamson to structure four main institutions that we consider crucial for the societal acceptance of GM crops. To create broad support and a proper basis for the use of GM, food safety and environmental regulations, intellectual property rights, entrepreneurship and public debate should all be in place. These four institutions should be seen as four legs of a chair: they are all related and if one or more leg fails the chair will be very unstable. Too much food safety and environmental regulations may however prevent companies from trying to get new seed varieties approved. Also on the degree of IPR protection a delicate balance needs to be struck to encourage R&D yet avoid an undesirable degree of market concentration. Public debate and participatory engagement are important for increasing consumers’ and citizens’ …
Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs Involved in Agritourism
MF Halim, DB Morais, C Barbieri, S Jakes, K Zering - 2016
A myriad of problems affecting farm income and profitability are compelling farmers to supplement their livelihoods with non-agricultural activities and off-farm employment (Barbieri and Mshenga 2008). Agritourism, defined as “farming related activities carried out on a working farm or other agricultural settings for entertainment or education purposes” (Gil Arroyo, Barbieri, and Rich 2013) is one of these emerging livelihood strategies for farmers (Barbieri and Mshenga 2008; Schmitt 2010). Women play pivotal roles in developing, maintaining and innovating agritourism enterprises (McGehee, Kim, and Jennings 2007) and various other farm value-added activities (e.g., food preserves, crafts, quilts) complementary to agritourism (Barbieri and Mshenga 2008). In spite of the active contribution of women in agritourism, studies show that women operators earn significantly less than male ones; the average difference in the U.S. was over US$35,000 per year (Barbieri and Mshenga 2008). However, little research has specifically explored the obstacles women agritourism entrepreneurs face in conducting their businesses (McGehee 2007). To respond to this knowledge gap, we conducted a study to identify the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs involved in farming and agritourism in North Carolina (NC) …
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