Agricultural research and development (R&D) is critical to increasing smallholder productivity and generating agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). National agricultural research systems (NARS), however, must organize around very complex research agendas, operate under very limited budgets, develop scientific talent, and in general face all of the constraints of small, agrarian countries. A range of […]
MoFA Program Evaluations
Four programs implemented by MoFA (AMSEC, fertilizer subsidies, block farms, and NAFCO) account for the bulk of the Ministry’s expenditures. Upon recommendation from the Joint Sector Review, the Ministry asked a team of researchers from IFPRI, GIMPA, and Smartteam to carry out an assessment of these 4 initiatives to guide government policy and improve their […]
Sustaining the Cocoa Sector in Ghana: What Next?
Ghana cocoa is one of the few commodity sectors in Africa that has not been fully liberalized. Some competition was introduced in the local marketing of cocoa that allows licensed buyers to purchase cocoa from producers at an announced price. Both the minimum producer price and the margin are determined by an industry representative body. […]
Ghana Agricultural News Digest – October 24
Agricultural Issues Motivating Cocoa Farmers Modern Ghana The government last week announced a new producer price for cocoa as part of incentives to sustain the interest of farmers and motivate the youth to go into cocoa production. The decision to increase the producer price was in spite of the global fall in cocoa prices and, […]
Last Week in Accra
We have been assessing the effectiveness of four of MoFA’s programs that account for the bulk of its annual expenditures: fertilizer subsidy, block farming, national buffer stock and the establishment of mechanization centers (AMSEC). The assessments are being undertaken in collaboration with two local consulting firms: GIMPA Consulting Services (on fertilizer subsidy, block farming and […]