There is no doubt that the just-ended year, 2021, has been a difficult agricultural year. Data from the Statistics, Research, and Information directorate of the Ministry for Food and Agriculture shows that between January and October 2021, the prices of major food crops like maize, yam, cassava, tomatoes, and rice increased between 12 and 73%.
Melach Coconut Processing Farm, a company that started its value addition of coconut at the kitchen is now the large exporter of coconut products.
To promote and develop agriculture in Ghana, the local seeds should be available in the market for the farmers to buy and cultivate.
Seed is critical in the production process and to ensure food security and good nutrition, Prof. Francis Kweku Amagloh has urged farmers to patronize the local seeds for their maximum nutritional value for growth and development.
“The major constraint we need to work against is the availability of seed. We need to make sure we develop the seed market for our indigenous vegetables because farmers buy tomato seeds to plant, we should also do the same thing, and we should be able to buy our indigenous vegetable seeds. It should be available at the market for us to buy”, Pro. Amagloh said.
He explained that there are some factors that hinder the growth of indigenous vegetable seeds in some parts of the country. These factors according to him are culture, rainfall pattern, taboos, and availability of seeds. Giving an example he said, in Accra, there are no bilva leaves because it was not available back the days.
Speaking to Agric Today, Prof. said Ghana’s micro-nutrient deficiency is high and Ghana has big nutritional issues, however, the local fruits and vegetables are power-houses of the nutrients therefore, we need to consider the indigenous fruits and vegetable seeds to obtain these nutritional losses.
He advocated for irrigation as a means of growing local seeds in every part of the country to promote food security.
150 young individuals including the physically challenged have been given three days of intensive capacity building in agribusiness.
Rainforest Alliance has donated Personal Protective Equipment to health officials in Sefwi Wiawso, Akontombra, Bodi, and Bibiani Ahwiaso-Bekwai Municipal areas to fight the new omicron variant pandemic.
Herder-Farmer conflict is a major issue in Ghana leading to loss of lives and properties. To manage and bring a lasting solution to the issue, stakeholders in the livestock sector have converged at Accra to discuss ongoing issues and policies on pastoralism in West Africa.
Ghana has spent an estimated total of GHc6.8 billion on rice importation from 2017 to 2020.
In addition, the country has also imported the following food products from 2017 to 2020; Fish – GHc3.993 billion, Chicken (processed) – GHc1.881 billion, Meat – GHc481 million, Vegetables GHc281 million, and poultry GHc184 million.
Hon. Alan Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry said made this disclosure when he appeared before Parliament to respond to a question by Hon. Murtala Muhammed Ibrahim, the Member of Parliament for Tamale Central on how much the state has spent on rice importation and other foodstuffs for the past four years.
Hon. Alan acknowledged from the figures provided that the country has spent close to GHc6.8billion on the importation of food items.
Responding to a question of whether the government has lifted the ban on small rice importers, Hon Alan explained that rice is a staple food in the country and one has to maintain a delicate balance between the quantity of rice produced locally at any point in time and what is important is to ensure that there are no serious shortages.
He said the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture are monitoring the rice production and at the appropriate time when the volumes on local rice increase significantly the government would restrict rice importation.
He maintained that the government has not lifted any ban imposed on the small rice importers but the Ministry has a management policy to ensure that there is no shortage of rice in the system.
Hon. noted that as and when there is significant local rice production in the country the Ministry would be able to determine the decision to take in respect to the ban.
Cashew and mango farmers are in a state of dilemma, as the government was unable to reconstitute the Tree Crop Development Authority’s (TCDA) board of directors to deliberate on the pricing of these crops.
The Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA) is the institution mandated by the law to set prices for tree crops such as cashew and mango. The TCDA is expected to set these prices in partnership with other stakeholders such as the Ghana Cashew Council.
In an interview with the B&FT, Davies Narh Korboe – Chairman for the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association Ghana (NFFAWAG), bemoaned the lack of will on the part of the government to appoint a chairperson and representatives of various ministries to the TCDA board – which is currently hampering the work of mango farmers who are harvesting their crops.
“The pricing mechanism is supposed to be done by TCDA, and because it has not been reconstituted it is difficult to do that. That is why the cashew farmers are crying and the mango farmers, too, are doing the same,” he stated.
According to him, the 24 board members selected from their respective associations cannot meet to take decisions without the appointment of a chairperson, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and representatives from the selected ministries such as the Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Finance, and Trade and Industry.
“The rest of the 24 members cannot do anything because the board is not reconstituted. Even though the other members do not need reappointment, they still need the rest to be approved by the president before the board can be reconstituted,” he said in an interview with the B&FT.
Mr. Karboe argued that setting up the TCDA is a step in the right direction, hence the need for government to respond to the call, adding that with proper management and good initiatives, the authority can become better than the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
TCDA’s views
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer for Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA), Williams Quaitoo, said the minimum fixed price for cashew in the 2021-2022 season will be announced by the Ministry of Agriculture in December this year.
According to him, all key and important factors needed to be considered in arriving at a very good price for the cashew farmers have been defined by experts, hence announcing the cashew price this month will add value to cashew.
Mr. Karboe is thus calling on the government to intervene, as the situation could lead to failure on the authority’s side in achieving the target set for 2025 – which is for the six selected value chains to collectively earn the country about US$2billion.
Banks must support farmers
Mr. Karboe called on the banks not to keep their fat balances but rather support the agribusiness community with soft and tailor-made agricultural credit to facilitate their business, stating that: “Agriculture is the real deal, and the way to go in making the President’s ‘Ghana beyond Aid’ agenda achievable.
“I implore them to truly learn to understand practical agriculture to help them in their delivery since that is where the bigger opportunities are found – which will still allow them to keep their fat balances, but this time not in books but rather in good agribusinesses.”
He applauded the Ghana Export Promotion Agency (GEPA) and COCOBOD for their immense contribution toward youth in the agricultural sector.
HortiFresh, a program supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands launched four reports for the horticulture sector in Ghana to aid production and processing processes. Researchers for the various reports handed first copies of the report to representatives from the horticulture value chain; processors, exporters, retailers, and producers of fruits and vegetables.
Tea is always a good idea when a scratchy throat arises. It can soothe the symptoms but also go to the root of what is creating that immune response. Here are the four types of teas that boost your immune system and help fight inflammation, oxidation, and infection.
