The Government spent over GHC 1billionn Ghana cedis in 2020 to import fertilisers, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has disclosed.
According to him, this alone demonstrates the government’s commitment to the development of agriculture across the country.
Dr. Afriyie Akoto made this revelation while addressing farmers, inputs dealers, regional agriculture directors, district agricultural directors at Ahinsan in the Ashanti Region yesterday as part of his regional tour.
He made this revelation when responding to the farmers’ call on the high cost of fertilizers. “In a quest to make farmers richer the government has subsidised fertilisers in particular, by 40%, this means the farmer has extra money for savings”, he said.
Proceeding to Amanfrom Prison, the Commandant, ADP Francis M. Yelpuo, enumerated the agricultural activities ongoing at the prison yard. He said the prison has a total of 40 acres of oil palm plantation, 45 sow piggery with a current total of 373 pigs, offering comprehensive practical training to inmates and officers, 73 sheep and 59 rabbits in addition to a 2-acre vegetable farm and 40-acre of maize and 10-acre swampland, the multiplication of taro suckers for the ministry of food and agriculture (MoFA) for onward distribution to farmers.
The commandant appealed to the minister for a 3000L polytank and nipple drinkers to improve the health of the animals.
Dr. Afriyie Akoto entreated the commandant to concentrate on projects they can commercialize to resource others.
He assured of a tractor subsidy of 40% reduction to the prison farm. “I can’t promise you free tractors but I can offer you one with a 40 % reduction and that’s what we can do,” he added.
Manhyia Palace, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II elucidated the efforts of the government in raising the level of agriculture in the country, particularly in the Ashanti Region. His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said this when the Minister paid him a visit.
Dr Osei Akoto pledged his support to sustain the gains made in the agriculture sector in the Ashanti Region.
Farmers in Achiase District have called on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to deploy Agriculture Extension Agents (AEAs) to the district to provide farming services and facilitate dissemination of new extension technologies to farmers.
The farmers’ appeal followed an annual Research Extension farmer Linkage Committee (RELC) meeting held at Akyem Achiase in the Eastern Region.
Mr Abraham Quargraine, the Overall Achiase District Best Farmer 2020 said inadequate agric extension officers in Akenkansu, Aperade, Osoroase, and Achiase is one of the major issues of concern in the four operational zones.
He said farmers are limited when it comes to mechanised farming and called on the government to heed their request on time to bring them up-to-date with modern farming techniques to boost production.
Mr Kafui Safo, Director of Agriculture at Achiase District highlighted the importance of RELC that is basically to prioritise farmers’ constraints and finding successful actions to solving them.
The RELC was established by the MoFA and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The farmer groups expressed a lack of supply of subsidised fertiliser for cereals and legumes, vegetables, roots and tubers, fruits, and tree crops as some of the cross-cutting constraints.
It was therefore recommended that the agriculture department should intervene in providing farmers with enough subsidised fertiliser on time.
Mr Daniel Agyei – Dwarko, Eastern Regional RELC Coordinator, assured participants that the Agriculture Department would find a definite solution to the issue of improved variety of tomatoes which was not thriving in the area for many decades for its yield.
He advised farmers to cooperate with the few Agriculture Extension Agents in the area for them to be abreast with modern agriculture technologies, saying: “The appeal for adequate AEAs would be worked at.”
About 37 participants were drawn from agro-input dealers, farmers, food processors, consumers, and the Achiase District Assembly officials.
In one of my school garden interactions, a student asked a question on pest control, and I genuinely think though this is a specialty area it’s one of the common challenges for gardeners.
Let me expand on the answer I provided to our young school gardener. Every organic garden suffers from pests at one time or another. Usually, this is a minor annoyance with most of the damage being cosmetic. Sometimes, though, you can struggle with a pest incursion. This can be difficult for the novice organic gardener, who may be tempted to go back to conventional methods. Fortunately, there are plenty of safe, practical organic approaches to use.
1: Select plants for pest resistance Some plants are naturally more resistant to pests. Garlic and onions are highly pest resistant. Some root vegetables like radishes are resistant to insects, although slugs and snails will still eat them.
2: Practice intercropping and companion planting Companion planting is the practice of putting specific plants alongside each other to promote healthy growth. In the case of pest control, you should consider companion planting with species that can repel pests. Garlic is excellent for this; planting garlic here and there among your other vegetables can reduce the number of pests in your garden.
Intercropping involves planting different crops next to each other. This avoids monocultures, which can encourage pests. If a pest can’t find the right species to settle on, it can’t begin an infestation.
3: Use physical defenses. Pest control doesn’t have to be chemical. You can protect your plants from insects, slugs, snails, and birds using physical barriers.
Nets: These are great if your problem is birds or small animals nibbling in your garden. Choose a mesh that’s small enough to stop birds from sticking their heads through the holes.
Copper wire and crushed eggshells: If your problem is damage by slugs and snails, you may need a different approach. Placing copper wire or strips along the ground can deter snails and slugs from attacking your plants. Crushed eggshells are also hard for slugs or snails to crawl over.
4: Keep your plants healthy Plants have a surprising range of defenses against pests. They can produce substances that discourage insects from moving in and keep infestations at bay. Adequately watered, well-fertilized plants are better at fending off predators.
5: Encourage beneficial insects Pollinators are essential but don’t neglect other beneficial insects in your organic garden. Ladybugs, lacewings, and other beneficial insects help keep down pests, eating greenflies and other bugs that you don’t want. Avoid trying to introduce these artificially. Instead, attract helpful insects by planting flowers they can feed on. These include sunflowers, angelica, and other flowers that have a flat shape and plentiful nectar.
If you’re still struggling with pests in your organic garden, you can try a few of the following organic pesticides which can be made at home:
How to make organic pesticides The best way to make natural pesticides is to use natural products that you have lying around your house. Garden pests are repelled or killed by a surprising number of safe and natural products. Here are a few natural insect repellent recipes I know and personally use:
Organic Garden Pest Control Recipe #1 1 head of garlic, 1 tablespoon (15 ML.) dish soap (note: do not use a dish soap that contains bleach) 2 tablespoons (29.5 ML.) mineral or vegetable oil 2 cups (480 ML.) water. Peel the garlic cloves and puree the cloves along with the oil and water. Allow to sit overnight and then strain the mixture. Add the soap and mix thoroughly. Pour into a spray bottle and use on pest-infected plants.
Organic Garden Pest Control Recipe #2 1 tablespoon (15 ML.) vegetable oil 2 tablespoons (29.5 ML.) baking soda 1 teaspoon (5 ML.) dish soap or Murphy Oil (note: do not use a dish soap that contains bleach) 2 quarts (1 L.) of water. Combine ingredients and pour into a spray bottle. Use this organic bug spray on your affected plants.
Organic Garden Pest Control Recipe #3 ½ cup (120 ML.) chopped hot peppers (the hotter the better) 2 cups (480 ML.) water, 2 tablespoons (29.5 ML.) dish soap (note: do not use a dish soap that contains bleach) Puree peppers and water. Let sit overnight. Strain carefully (this will burn your skin) and mix in dish soap. Pour into a spray bottle and spray this organic bug spray on your buggy plants.
Godslove Boadu, a Ghanaian national who plans to study Food Science in France, is the winner of the 2021 Study a Master’s in Europe Scholarship awarded by educations.com.
Godslove has been awarded €5000 towards her tuition fees for her Master of Science and Engineering degree in Food Science at Junia ISA, Graduate School of Agriculture and Bioengineering in Lille, Northern France.
Godslove interned at the Ghana Standards Authority, before working in food safety and quality assurance at Project Peanut Butter, an NGO that helps malnourished children in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. It was through this work that Godslove was inspired to deepen her knowledge of nutrition initiatives. Godslove wants to do this in a multicultural environment to bring new perspectives into her work.
This has led her to decide to study abroad in France, one of the top five places to study abroad in Europe. Godslove’s choice was also motivated by France being home to the Paris Agreement and one of the biggest landmarks in the fight against climate change.
Having grown up in Ghana, where climate change and the welfare of rural farming communities is an issue, Godslove has been inspired to undertake her Master’s program alongside other keen industry professionals from around the world. Godslove will graduate in 2023.
Godslove’s story and future plans align with the mission of the scholarship, which seeks to recognize Master’s students who study in Europe to become globally-minded leaders.
“We are tremendously inspired by Godslove’s passion for her subject and the thought that she put into her country and program of choice. In a few short years, she has approached food science from multiple viewpoints, always with the aim of helping make the world a better place: whether through ensuring food safety, providing nutritious food to undernourished children, or developing and promoting climate-friendly foods. We are confident that she will become a leader in her field who brings a global perspective to her work,” says Abby Guthrie, Communications Manager of educations.com.
About this scholarship. This is our second scholarship of this kind, the first one being awarded last year. It was introduced to help promote Master’s programs in Europe and their power to shape globally-minded leaders from around the world and is awarded annually.
In this round, there were over 4,400 applicants to the scholarship and the winner was chosen based on their eligibility and the following criteria:
• Globally-minded and interested in other cultures
• Motivated and inspired to positively change the world
• High academic achiever with consistently outstanding grades to prove it
• Involved in extracurricular groups and activities
• Excited to begin their adventure and share their story with the world!
Students were asked to answer the question:
“Why did you choose your study abroad country, and how will it help you grow as a globally-minded leader?”
2022 scholarships
Applications for the Study a Master’s in Europe Scholarship 2022 will open on September 3, 2021.
We have also launched our Go Global MBA Scholarship for studies starting in Fall 2022. This scholarship aims to help promising business minds take their career to the next step by studying for an MBA abroad.
If your institute would like to promote the scholarships for your students, please contact scholarships@educations.com for details.
Ghanaian and Italian agribusiness firms have held promising business-to-business (B2B) meetings through the Ghana-Italy Agribusiness Digital Lab, organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) virtually.
Over 50 Ghanaian-led agro companies participated in the meetings with a focus on having in-depth knowledge on Italian Agricultural Machinery; Cold Chain and Logistics; Seeds, Greenhouse and Irrigation; and Sorting, Processing, and Packaging.
Italy has been noted as a pioneer in these agribusiness arenas, the Digital Lab presented their finest kinds in the sector. This gave fruitful and promising opportunities for commercial partnership with these Italian experts by the Ghanaian agro companies.
The virtual B2B meeting was a gold-mined opportunity given. Eric Kwabena Agyei of 3E Farms and Foods affirmed this after going through difficult times putting up such a great program.
“Italian machinery technology is the best in the world and is second to none. On any day we shall go for Italian technology. Fortunately, it has proven itself over the years,” he confirmed.
The CEO of the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana, Anthony Morrison commended the organizers for such a great opportunity presented to the sector.
According to him, Italian technologies are robust and sustainable that Africa and Ghana should adopt. The technology shows more superior quality and advantage over some of the known technologies.
He confirmed that companies are also willing to provide some level of skills training for prospective Ghanaian agribusinesses.
Looking ahead to the future partnerships, he added they are looking forward to sealing a business with two or more companies from Italy and hoping to visit about 4 prospective companies once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
The products and services being offered by the Italian companies are excellent and timely in the agriculture and agribusiness sector, and in the entire value chain from production through to manufacturing to trade. Lucy Kyerede Quainoo, the Co-founder of the Agribusiness Value Chain Federation mentioned this at the Digital Lab.
She observed that there are opportunities for collaborating with all three companies she spoke with and looks forward to furthering engagements.”
Alessandro Gerbino, the ITA Director for West Africa, mentioned that Italy has a lot to offer Ghana’s agribusiness market, from technology solutions to skills transfer and training.
The reason for organizing the Digital Lab is to serve as a platform to deepen engagement between the two countries’ agribusiness sectors and make Italian technologies easily accessible to the Ghanaian market.
The Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Agricultural Office has presented 15,000 coconut seedlings to farmers in the area to boost the Planting for Export and Rural Development initiative in the municipality.
Mr. Isaac Kwadwo Buabeng, the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Chief Executive Officer in an interview said the provision of the seedlings would enhance the economic activities of the farmers.
He mentioned some of the beneficiary communities as Asikabew, Duayeden, Noka, Otukwadjo, Panpanso Number One, Obredumah, Nigo Teshie, Asiyaw, Fotobi, Akwamu, and Akpeteshie.
Mr. Buabeng said the fruits of the high-breed coconut seedlings could be harvested in three to four years when planted and that the donation is to encourage the youth to venture into the Planting for Food and Export policy of the government.
Mrs. Perpetual Decker, the Municipal Director of Agriculture, said the field workers of the Department would support the project to assist the farmers in inlining, pecking, and planting.
She said the Assembly and the Department were planning to establish a factory to provide easy access to the market for the farmers, which would create job opportunities for the youth and help the Assembly to earn foreign income through export.
Madam Mary Addo, a farmer from Asikabew, who received the coconut seedlings on behalf of the farmers, expressed gratitude to the Assembly for the project and called on the youth in the area to take farming as a career to earn a living.
The Mim Cashew and Agricultural Production Limited in the Ahafo Region has shut down with more than 1,000 employees laid off.
Mrs Jemima Akusika Hansen, the Director of Human Resource and Administration, said the free-zone enterprise, was shut down in November 2020 due to the high cost of production, processing, and lack of raw materials to feed the factory.
She told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Mim during a visit by Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), that cashew production and processing was labour intensive and appealed to the government to help revive the company to create jobs for the local people.
Accompanied by some key staff of the Ministry, Dr. Akoto is on a three-day working visit to the Ahafo, Bono, and Bono East Regions.
Mrs. Hansen said the company is currently focusing on farming, saying it has 50 acres of sugarcane and 750 acres of cashew plantations and would require modern, state-of-the-art machines and equipment to revive the factory.
Responding, Dr Akoto expressed shock about the collapse of the company and, therefore, pledged the government’s readiness and support to assist in resuscitating it.
He said the government is working to regulate the cashew industry and promised to support the company to import machines and equipment from Vietnam to revive operations.
The Cocoa Abrabopa Association (CAA) commissioning borehole for the Akyekyere cocoa community in the the Amenfi Central District of Western Region.
Cocoa farmers and Residents of Akyekyere in the Amenfi Central District of Western Region of Ghana are all praising Cocoa Abrabopa Association (CAA) for assisting them with a mechanized borehole and a new water tank.
As part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, the Cocoa Abrabopa Community Development Project committee with the support of management selected Akyekyere as one of the beneficiary communities for this mechanized borehole.
The Association revealed that they have constructed 25 mechanized boreholes across all the 10 cocoa growing regions in Ghana namely Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Western North, Western, Volta, and Oti regions.
According to the Council Chairman of CAA, Mr. Ismail Pomasi, they are fulfilled to have made portable water accessible to about 40,000 inhabitants in cocoa-growing communities including the Akyekyere community.
At a ceremony to commission the mechanised boreholes, the Council Chairman indicated that funding for all the 25 mechanised boreholes was from internal sources.
“5% of member’s premiums are transferred into the community development project fund, and that is what we are using for our community development projects,” he said.
Mr. Pomasi reiterated to the community members the need to contribute a token for every bucket of water fetched for the maintenance of the mechanized boreholes and urged the community members to take good care of the borehole so as to derive long-term benefits.
He also used the occasion to invite local and international organizations to partner with CAA to provide Community Development Projects at a larger scale in cocoa-growing regions in Ghana aimed at improving the livelihoods of farmers which is in line with the vision of the CAA
Nana Okofo Asafo Adjei II Chief of Akyekyere in the Amenfi Central District of the Western Region and the chairman for the occasion supported the idea that each household must be encouraged to contribute a token for maintenance of the mechanized boreholes.
The community committees made up of local traditional authorities, CAA farmers, community members, and the local district assembly should be established as a means of increasing the representation and participation of residents in the decision-making process. Their mandate is to make sure that this beautiful mechanized water borehole provided by CAA will be regularly maintained and all electricity bills are paid promptly” he said.
The District Coordinating Director for Amenfi Central Mr. Emmanuel Boateng emphasized that the sustainability of this mechanized borehole is very important and if managed well, would go a long way to help the community in this era of the water crisis.
“Sustainable development encourages us to conserve and enhance our resource base, by gradually changing the ways in which we develop and use technologies. Communities must be helped to meet their basic needs of employment, food, energy, water, and sanitation”.
It is important we use the available resources we have been given judiciously and work towards maintaining it” he said.
Local fruit juice manufacturing firm, Ekumfi Juice, has discounted claims the factory has shut down its operations.
Management of the company says the company only reduced the production capacity as a result of the long period of drought.
The drought, the management explains, affected gravely their raw material base. Some distributors of the product across the country have complained they were not getting the required supplies from the factory even though they have made an advance payment for the product.
But speaking to Joynews, Operations Manager of the Factory, Frederick Kobina Acquah, revealed the company has not shut down but has increased its pineapple plantation to enable them to deal with the volumes of demands on their hands.
He clarified, “There’s never been a shutdown. This week, for example, there hasn’t been any production because I checked the brix level that we use and realized that we were going to have a small quantity to produce. For me, it does not make economic sense to be pushed to produce small quantities at full capacity.”
He further explained that if the quantities were not up to the volumes that were desirable to the company, they would normally consolidate it in another week.” And that’s what happened this week,” he stated.
He added, “What has happened in the past few months is that Central Region has experienced some long periods of drought- a longer than normal drought. The rains are just coming in and if there’s drought, it affects us in some huge way.”
For the company, the long period of droughts affected their production and pushed them to produce a little lower than what ordinarily they would have produced.
Ekumfi Juice Factory has not shutdown, drought-affected our production – Management “So, we have not been able to supply our customers, especially, some of our customers who have paid in advance,” he explained
Frederick Kobina Acquah revealed, the break has afforded them the opportunity to expand their production network and they are planting a 5000-acre of pineapple. “And to us, it’s a plus for us. There are more great and exciting times ahead and our customers should expect something better,” he said.
On Wednesday, some distributors of the company’s product would be going to the factory to ascertain the level of production.
Total expenditure allocation for the agriculture sector in the past four years, from 2017 to 2020, has stayed below one percent of the government’s total spending in the economy.
The total spending for the agriculture sector in 2017, which was GH¢384.6million, constituted just 0.71 percent of the entire government expenditure. In 2018 total spending on the sector rose to GH¢502.7million, which comprised 0.79 percent. There was a significant increase in the sector’s investment in 2019 to GH¢635.5million making about 0.86 percent. With GH¢576.9million being expenditure for 2020 constituting 0.68 percent.
These figures depicted the total for compensations, goods and services, and total Capex for the sector during the four-year period.
Indeed, the International Budget Partnership (IBP) – an organization that collaborates with civil society organisations around the world to analyse and influence public budgets in order to reduce poverty – has said Ghana’s performance on African Agricultural Transformation Scorecard (AATS), the Malabo Declaration, currently ranks at 6.67 out of 10 percent.
IBP disclosed that Mali’s (6.82), Morocco’s (6.96), and Rwanda’s (7.24) agriculture sector performance is stronger than that of Ghana.
Although allocation to the sector was increasing from 2017 to 2019, there was a dip in 2020. This phenomenon can be attributed to the government’s refocused attention on health sector spending due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was a sudden increase in the sector’s goods and services in 2019 to GH¢471.8million from GH¢201.7million in 2017, with a dip in Capex to GH¢91.4million in 2019.
However, this increment has not only been below the committed 10 percent of the total expenditure of government necessary for the development of the sector, but it also declined from about 0.37 percent in 2017 to 0.31 percent in 2020 – with a nearly-50 percentage points decline in 2020.
The year-on-year adverse variations in the requests made by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to support the expansion of the fertiliser subsidy programme, which have been met by fiscal policy caps by the Ministry of Finance, is also worrying IBP said.
This negative variance is nearly GH¢400million in some fiscal periods (2018 and 2019 to be precise), which undermines the strategic intent of MoFA in supporting the country’s food security agenda.
Over the focal period (2015 – 2019), the sector’s recorded under-expenditure is as high as 96 percent in some years, and over-expenditure reached as high as 256 percent in 2018. This not only undermines needed finance for the fertiliser subsidy programme, but ultimately undermines the credibility of policy and the budget in driving a coherent set of activities for all stakeholders in the agriculture sector.
In the case of actual spending, the ratio is at 36.17 percent; and adjusting for current spending, this increases to 50.89 percent. Currently, the government is keeping its act in line, but the ratios need to go up.
Meanwhile, the government’s projected investment plans for the sector have a positive outlook, as 1.5 million farmers are targeted to benefit from the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ initiative in this year, 2021. The target is a significant increase from the total 1.2 million farmers who benefitted from the policy in 2020.
