Below are some current developments on agriculture in Africa:
Media Reports
SEND-Ghana Launches Food Security Project Report
SEND-Ghana was established in 1998 in the eastern corridor of the Northern Region with the ultimate goal of combating illiteracy, desertification, food insecurity and to ensure small holder farmers’ access to sustainable credit. The organization in partnership with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the Credit Union Association (CUA) is operating in eight districts within the eastern corridor of the Northern Region. The Food Security through Cooperatives in Northern Ghana (FOSTERING) project was implemented to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers and farmer based organizations. The comprehensive report dubbed, “Closing funding gaps in agriculture: implications for food security in rural Ghana” was officially launched in Tamale. In line with the organization’s Food Security through Cooperatives in Northern Ghana (FOSTERING) project, the report highlighted three thematic areas comprising food security, rural agriculture and agriculture finance.
Mainstream Child Nutrition, Food Security Issues in Long-term Development Plan
At the launch of a report dubbed “Cost of Hunger in Africa” (COHA) under the auspices of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), with collaboration from the World Food Programme (WFP), New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and the United Nations’ (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), speakers suggested the mainstreaming of child nutrition and food security issues into the long-term national development plan. Speaking at the event, the Vice Chairperson of NDPC, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, said issues of food security and malnutrition ought to be considered as a national development challenge rather than a health issue. “Eliminating stunting is not an option but an imperative issue, because stunted children today mean a stunted economy,” she said. She made reference to the COHA report and observed that stunting had a negative effect on educational attainment, human resource development and the productivity of the labour force. In that regard, she called on all stakeholders and government agencies to adopt a holistic approach to improve child nutrition and food security.
EU Ambassador to Inspect EU Assisted Programs in Eastern Region
The European Union supports the Ghanaian banana exporting companies Golden Estate Ltd (GEL) and Volta River Estate Ltd (VREL) with a grant of €7.2 million which will be used for organic composting at VREL and the construction of 224 houses for banana workers at GEL. The composting facility will use plant material from the Volta River to produce organic fertilizer for the banana plantation of VREL. EU Ambassador to Ghana William Hanna will today [Thursday] visit banana plantations in the Eastern region to inspect EU support to improve the competitiveness of the agricultural export industry. He will meet with producers and inaugurate the new Composting Facility at the Volta River Estate Ltd (VREL). The composting facility supports VREL in growing organic and fair trade bananas, which fetch higher prices on the European market. Prior to his visit Ambassador Hanna said: “There is huge demand for Ghana’s agricultural exports in the European market. Our consumers are happy to pay more for high value exports that can be certified as organic and/or fair trade.
‘No Worries over Collapse of Local Rice’ – Trade Ministry
A statement from the Ministry on Friday, July 29, 2016, announced that three inland borders; the Elubo, Sampa and Nkrankwanta borders have been re-opened to rice importers, after almost three years ban. The decision to however open borders for rice importation has received a lot of backlash from most especially local rice producers as they fear this will once again render the local rice uncompetitive on the markets. But speaking to Citi Business News, Head of Tax Advisory Board at the Trade Ministry, Lawrence Osei Boateng insists there is no cause for worry as measures have been put in place to ensure local producers are not affected. “It is only three land borders that we have opened and we are sure that we have the co-operation of the security services, customs to check the menace of smuggling, under invoicing and we have also met with the small scale importers of rice and we have the assurance that they will be doing genuine business,” he stated.
FAGRO Secretariat to Organise Business Plan Writing Training Session
The National Food and Agric Show – FAGRO – is a trailblazer platform that brings stakeholders in the agric industry together every year to showcase products and innovations in the sector while forging mutually-beneficial networking opportunities. This year’s edition will hold from September 28 to 30 at the Ghana International Trade Fair Site and it’s expected to attract over five hundred (500) farmers, students, entrepreneurs and other industry players from all parts of the country. Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, General Manager of the FAGRO secretariat said;” the aim of the Agri-Business Booth Camp is to train farmers and agri-business persons on how to write very attractive business plans to bait investors and partners so as to boost their expansion plans. More than 100 participants are expected to take advantage of this rare training opportunity.
MOFA Moves to Increase Cassava Production in Kwahu South
The Food and Agriculture Ministry (MOFA) has launched a project to substantially increase cassava production in the Kwahu South District. Under it, more than 150 cassava growers would receive high yielding planting materials. Mr. Daniel Mantey, the Coordinator of the Project, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Mpraeso that the goal was to promote food security and raise the level of farmers’ income. The project was part of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) - a multi-year effort to transform agriculture in the sub-region by boosting productivity.
Stakeholders Review Progress Report on Food Security
A stakeholders’ validation workshop has been held in Accra to discuss the Annual Report on the New Alliance Co-operative Framework Agreement that aim at improving food security and nutrition in Ghana. Participants are to assess progress on commitments of various stakeholders made up of government, development partners, civil society and non-governmental organisations towards increasing agricultural investment in the country.
Agribusiness Vital for Ghana’s Development - GGBL
Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL), Ghana’s only Total Beverage business has urged investors and technical experts to look to the agriculture sector for greater return on their investments in Ghana. The brewery giant made this call at the 5th Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Bootcamp held at the Kofi Annan ICT Center in Accra. The event organized by Diaspora Angel Investment Network (DAIN) aimed at training entrepreneurs’ through critical thinking exercises and business framework modelling to build a sustainable venture in the agribusiness supply chain, while building wealth in their community. Diaspora Angel Investment Network (DAIN) were particularly excited about GGBL’s progress in the area of agribusiness. Nii Simmonds, Program Director of the Network added, ‘It is exciting to see the potential that agriculture has in Ghana.
Agric Needs a Rethink – B&FT CEO
Speaking at a public lecture in Accra, organised by the Institute of Chartered Economists, Ghana (ICEG), Edith Dankwa, CEO of the Business and Financial Times, has said, to drastically reduce the estimated food import bill of US$1.5billion, the country’s approach to agriculture needs a rethink. “We need to treat agriculture properly because if you look at our import bill on food, including fish, tomato paste and others, it shows there is a clear need to mechanise agriculture so we can produce at optimal capacity. Contributing to the theme of the lecture: ‘Repositioning Ghana’s economy for growth and development,’ Mrs. Dankwa said the slump in crude oil prices should remind policy makers and the country as a whole that agriculture cannot be neglected. The public lecture, which is the first of its kind by the ICEG, is aimed at creating a platform for the sharing of ideas on how to reposition the country’s economy for development.
Feature: Limitations of Women in Agriculture
A report titled, “Gender dimensions of agricultural and rural employment: Differentiated pathways out of poverty,” compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) revealed that women, especially those in the rural areas continue to reap fewer benefits in agriculture than men and are less recognised compared to their male counterparts. The same report indicated that, the absence of gender equality between male and female farmers hinders not only the personal development of the women involved but the overall advancement and sustainability of the national economy. It is well-known that women constitute more than half of Ghana’s agricultural labour force yet, have very little access and control over resources that are indispensable to their productivity due to gender inequalities and patriarchy.
Reports/Articles
The Complexity of Local Tenure Systems: A Smallholders’ Perspective on Tenure in Ghana
Isabel Lambrecht, Sarah Asare – Land Use Policy, Volume 58, 15 December 2016, Pages 251–263
For many decades, land tenure reforms have been high on the policy agenda of governments in SSA. One of the key drivers for this is the idea that simple land policy interventions could improve tenure security, which then could lead to more agricultural investment and higher agricultural productivity. Yet, land tenure interventions do not occur in a vacuum, but occur in the presence of customary tenure institutions. Based on qualitative field work in Ghana, we show that customary tenure is extremely diverse, complex and dynamic. There is a need for more recognition of this diversity and complexity by policy makers, development practitioners and researchers in order to design more effective and realistic land policy interventions.
Land Tenure Reforms, Tenure Security and Food Security in Poor agrarian economies: Causal Linkages and Research Gaps
ST Holden, H Ghebru - Global Food Security, 2016
This paper reviews the literature to identify the relationship between tenure security and food security. The literatures on tenure issues and food security issues are not well connected and the scientific evidence on the causal links between tenure security and food security is very limited. The paper explores the conceptual linkages between land tenure reforms, tenure security and food security and illustrates how these vary across diverse contexts. The paper then reviews the limited number of high quality studies that contribute to a causal chain analysis between tenure security and food security and identifies important research gaps.
Development Interventions and Agriculture Adaptation: A Social Network Analysis of Farmer Knowledge Transfer in Ghana
K Cadger, AK Quaicoo, E Dawoe, ME Isaac - Agriculture, 2016
Social ties play an important role in agricultural knowledge exchange, particularly in developing countries with high exposure to agriculture development interventions. Institutions often facilitate agricultural training projects, with a focus on agroecological practices, such as agroforestry and agrobiodiversity. The structural characteristics of social networks amongst land managers influences decision-making to adopt such adaptive agroecoloigcal practice; however, the extent of knowledge transfer beyond direct project participants is often unknown. Using a social network approach, we chart the structure of agrarian knowledge networks (n = 131) in six communities, which have been differentially exposed to agriculture development interventions in Ghana. Farmer network size, density and composition were distinctly variable; development project-affiliated farmers were embedded in larger networks, had non-affiliated farmers within their networks, were engaged in more diverse agricultural production and reported adopting and adapting agroecological practice more frequently. Such bridging ties that link across distinctive groups in a network can expose network members to new and innovative agroecological practices, such as increasing agrobiodiversity, thus, contributing to livelihood strategies that mitigate environmental and market risk. Furthermore, we show that these knowledge networks were crop-specific where network size varied given the type of crop produced. Such factors, which may influence the rate and extent of agroecological knowledge diffusion, are critical for the effectiveness of land management practices as well as the persistence of agriculture development interventions.
* The GSSP News Digest just summarizes news that is reported in the press. Any errors of fact or omission are not IFPRI’s responsibility*