As part of efforts to boost the production of cashew in the country, a total of 19,000 improved cashew seedlings have been distributed to 470 small-scale farmers across eight districts.
The beneficiary farmers are scattered across these areas, Wenchi, Tain (Bono Region), Kintampo South and Nkoranza North (Bono East), Tano North (Ahafo) Bole (Savanna), Sogakope (Volta), and Nkwanta South (Oti).
The intervention is an aspect of a five-year Cashew Project (Pro-Cashew) being implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an American NGO and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The CNFA also collaboration with an institution like the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to implement the project in the country.
The project seeks to promote the cultivation of the tree crop to improve the livelihood of farmers by enhancing their income levels. The focused countries for the five-year project are Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria.
On behalf of the beneficiary farmers, Mr. Mbema Saaka, a former illegal miner at Bole expressed gratitude to CNFA for the kind support, stating that the intervention will go a long way as an alternative but sustainable livelihood initiative to make a meaningful living after bowing out of the galamsey business.
The Country Representative of CNFA Procashew Project, Eleazer Tackie, pledged the unflinching commitment of the organization to assist improve the socioeconomic status of the rural folk by extending their benevolence to benefit more farmers in other areas as well as build the capacity of farmers to rehabilitate and maintain cashew farms, indicating that more 37, 000 seedlings will be distributed to about 1,000 farmers in Regions and Districts that were not captured during the first phase of the project.
He said: “To increase the capacity of farmers to maintain their cashew farms, the project will in the month of September train about 1,500 cashew farmers, largely from the districts and regions which have received the improved seedlings. The training will be done in collaboration with the District MoFA officers. The training will cover GAPs in cashew, including rehabilitation and maintenance of cashew farms.”
The 2021 Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR21) was launched today at the AGRF Summit in Nairobi, Kenya to address the challenges and opportunities in the creation of sustainable and resilient Agri-Food Systems in Africa.
It explores what Building Resilient and Sustainable Food Africa Systems entails, and calls for the necessary actions by governments, pan- African organizations, bilateral and multilateral development partners, and the private sector.
“This year’s AASR21 details the practical steps all stakeholders from governments and regional organizations to the private sector need to take to rebuild and enhance Africa’s food systems,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that despite the progress we have made over the last decade, Africa’s food systems remain fragile to external shocks.
We must take the opportunity we have to rebuild from the pandemic, to make our food systems more resilient without putting further pressure on the environment,” Dr. Kalibata added.
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has registered the most rapid rate of agricultural production growth since 2000 than any other region in the world.
However, three-quarters of this growth is driven by the expansion of the cropland over yield increase. With Africa’s population expected to double to nearly 2.5 billion by 2050, now is the time for stakeholders to put steps in place to increase production without compromising the continent’s natural resources.
“Raising yields and productivity on existing farmlands is among the most important ways to make African food systems more resilient and sustainable. Raising productivity on existing farmlands will reduce pressures for continued expansion of cropland, and preserve valued forest and grassland ecosystems and the biodiversity that they provide,” said Andrew Cox, AGRA’s Chief of Staff and Strategy.
The report outlines the priorities and the next steps that must be taken by all stakeholders to achieve the transformation that will lead to sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. “The AASR21 should serve as a wake-up call of the need to act urgently to support the creation of resilient food systems and reverse or mitigate the impact we have seen on the environment,” said Dr. Thom Jayne of Michigan State University, and Lead Author of the report.
“One of the first steps is meaningfully increased public investments in agricultural research, development, and extension. While agricultural R&D spending has risen over the years, in SSA public investments amount to less than 1 percent of the agricultural GDP in most countries,” Dr. Jayne added.
The report further builds on the call to action of the African governments from the UN Food Systems Summit, recognizing the need for urgency in this last decade of the global effort to realize the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The AASR21 was launched at the 11th edition of the AGRF Summit, an annual gathering that brings together heads of state and government, agriculture ministers, members of the civil society, private sector leaders, scientists, and farmers in discussions that define the future of Africa’s food systems.
Under the theme Pathways to Recovery and Resilient Food Systems, this year’s AGRF Summit will explore the pathways and actions needed to steer the continent towards food systems that will deliver sufficient and nutritious food, protect the environment and create sustainable jobs.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has said its Environmental Health Department has doubled its effort to clampdown on the sale of any unwholesome food product on the market following the discovery of 15 cartons of rotten chicken meant for sale to the public.
The Public Relations Officer of KMA, Henrietta Afia Konadu, said the Food Hygiene Unit, of the Environmental Health Department plans on conducting a thorough search on cold storage facilities in the metropolis, to see if there are any unwholesome food products being sold for public consumption.
The development follows the arrest of two persons by KMA Metro guards when they attempted to cart 15 cartons of unwholesome chicken at Adakwame Lorry Station around Mbrom, in the Kumasi Metropolis.
The rotten chickens were being transported by one Abiba and are believed they were intended to be smoked or roasted for sale within Asuofua, Adakwame, and Kejetia environs. One of the alleged suspects, Abiba has since led the Environmental Health Officers at KMA to arrest the operator of the cold store at the Asafo Market, where some more rotten chickens were discovered. The two have been sent to the Ridge Police Station for further investigations.
Meanwhile, according to the Public Relations Officer of KMA, the Police officers handling the case have said the suspects are being processed for court, while investigations continue to find out if there are more rotten chickens from the source where the products were transported to the cold store.
Speaking in an interview with the B&FT, the Deputy Director in charge of Public Health, in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Michael Rockson Adjei, noted that the consumption of wholesome products can lead to death among other health risks.
The consumption of unwholesome food products, processed or raw, results in food poisoning due to bacteria infestation, of the contaminated food item. This makes the food products detrimental to human health when it is consumed.
Dr. Michael Rockson Adjei also said: “the other side is that there is loss of nutritional value, as the food goes bad. Should one even escape the acute outcome like death or diarrhea or the other effects, you may not benefit nutritionally.”
He, therefore, cautioned that while there are agencies like the Food and Drugs Authority, as well as the local assemblies that have the mandate to ensure that only healthy food products are allowed on the markets, the public should also be mindful of what they buy. “Individuals have their own duty to protect themselves while the regulatory agencies and assemblies continue to do their job.”
He entreated the public to pay attention to expiry dates on food items sold on the market as well as being mindful of the environment where they purchase or patronize cooked and uncooked foods.
The Chief Executive of Ghana COCOBOD, Mr. Joseph Aidoo, has tasked stakeholders to lead the campaign for afforestation, good agricultural practices and adherence to COVID-19 protocols to safeguard the cocoa industry.
Addressing participants at a plenary session of Olam’s Annual Cocoa Managers’ Conference under the theme: ‘Delivering FY21 in the face of current industry dynamics’, Mr. Aidoo said climate change and COVID-19 had impacted the cocoa industry extensively.
Cocoa trees, he said, needed specific weather conditions to enable them to bear healthy cocoa pods, therefore, as soon as the climatic balance was disturbed, cocoa cultivation, livelihoods of cocoa farmers, as well as the quality of chocolate became negatively affected.
The country head of Olam Ghana, Mr. Amit Agrawal during a session with staff said, “Olam Ghana has, within a short period, birthed six different businesses, which are all leading in market share.
“Olam is the fifth-largest company in Ghana, according to the latest Ghana Club 100 rankings, based on the size of our revenue.”
He said these milestones had been possible because of hard work, good processes, and the continuous promotion of the welfare of staff.
On the impact of COVID-19 on the company, Mr. Agrawal said because the business had digitalized its operations and had already become paperless and cashless before the advent of COVID-19, product sales and procurement of produce had been least affected by the pandemic.
Industry players and influencers, as well as government officials, led discussions on trends and developments in the cocoa sector and how best the company could position itself favourably.
The participants were taken through various procurement courses, such as how they could achieve their FY21 targets with zero outstanding and how to maximise value.
There were also non-procurement courses such as financial management, project management, communication, and presentation skills to equip employees for the crop season.
Other activities for the participants included a medical screening exercise, sports, and an excellence award ceremony during which employees were appreciated for their exceptional performance.
The weeklong programme, which opened on September 2, 2021, at the Pentecost Convention Centre at Kasoa, brought together some 500 managers of the business drawn from across Olam Cocoa’s operational areas.
Olam Cocoa Ghana, one of the largest private Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) in Ghana’s cocoa sector, hosted and led discussions with the key stakeholders on topical issues of concern to the industry at its annual Managers’ Conference.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced that the purchases for the 2021 light Crop Season will cease at the close of business on Friday, September 3, 2021.
This was in a statement signed by Dr. Emmanuel A. Opoku, the Acting Chief Executive, COCOBOD, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
The statement said to assist the License Buying Companies to obtain the final returns from up-country The COCOBOD had decided that the returns on the declared purchases would be accepted up to 16 hours on Thursday, September 9, 2021.
An initiative that will avail digital tools and training resources to small-scale farmers and agriculture-linked small businesses in Africa has been launched. The programme instituted by Microsoft 4Afrika in partnership with IFC aims to support digital transformation in Africa’s agribusiness sector, modernize supply chains, and boosting farmers’ productivity and incomes.
Getting the initiative started, a mobile platform will be piloted among farmers in Kenya, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, and Uganda. This targets to reach and support 50,000 farmers and at least 50 cooperatives.
The initiative is informed by the fact that digital technology can improve the operation of key supply chains in the food system through greater agricultural efficiencies, improved business practices, traceability, food safety and, access to finance. However, the use of digital tools in Africa’s agriculture sector remains limited, often because of infrastructure, affordability, awareness, and regulatory issues. Agribusiness contributes about 25 percent of Africa’s GDP and 70 percent of its employment.
“Now more than ever, we need to pay close attention to how agri-tech organizations transform digitally, what challenges they face acquiring new technologies, and the daily challenges they may be facing in the area of digital skills development. Microsoft 4Afrika’s strategy is to invest in agri-tech to unlock Africa’s vibrant potential, accelerating innovation in agri-tech to enable data-driven farming that can optimize yields, boost farm productivity and increase profitability – all while feeding a nation,” Kendi Nderitu, Country Manager for Microsoft Kenya said.
Kendi Nderitu, Country Manager for Microsoft 4Afrika, Kenya
The partnership will leverage Microsoft 4Afrika’s unique digital platforms and IFC’s Agribusiness Leadership Program to help small-scale farmers, their cooperatives, and “last mile retailers” access information and digital tools to strengthen farming practices, build business professionalism and improve food security and traceability throughout the supply chain.
On his part, Samuel Dzotefe, the acting Regional Industry Director, Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services, Middle East & Africa said: “Digital technologies have the power to transform small-scale farming in Africa. By making digital tools more accessible to farmers, cooperatives, and last-mile retailers, Microsoft and IFC can together help the agribusiness sector to capitalize on the opportunities afforded by the digital economy.”
Around 155 million people were facing acute food insecurity in 2020 across 55 countries or territories, an increase of around 20 million people from 2019, according to the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises. Of the 10 countries with the highest number of people facing food insecurity, six were in Africa.
Digital technology is one way to boost agricultural production and efficiencies. The partnership will include Microsoft’s KuzaBot mobile chat platform, which will speed and ease the dissemination of vital information to farmers on good agricultural and business practices.
IFC’s Agribusiness Leadership Program, which will be available on the Microsoft Community Training platform, will help small businesses, aggregators, and farmer cooperatives improve their professionalism, productivity, and creditworthiness. Over the long term, the partnership aims to deepen the understanding of factors that drive the adoption and use of digital solutions among smallholder farmers, farmer cooperatives, and other actors in the agriculture supply chain.
About Microsoft 4Afrika Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
The 4Afrika Initiative is Microsoft’s business and market development engine in Africa. Launched in 2013, it aims to unlock and accelerate Africa’s potential to create technology not only for the continent but for the world.
In seven years, the 4Afrika initiative has reached 1,7 million small and medium businesses, supported more than 300 startups, 12 accelerator partnerships, upskilled 108,000 Africans in Microsoft Cloud Society, placed 926 interns with 176 partners with an 85 percent retention rate, and produced 2,073 graduates from 19 Skills Labs, with an 85 percent employment rate. The initiative has been recognized by the International Finance Corporation as a best practice example of developing skills in sub-Saharan Africa.
About IFC IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In the fiscal year 2020, we invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
The Chief Executive Officer of BEIT Farms, Farmer Evans Larbi says the government Fertilizer Subsidy Programme must be scrapped now because there is a lack of efficiency and transparency in the programme.
Farmer Larbi explained that annually the government allocates about 207 million Ghana cedi’s for the scheme to import fertilizers, which are subsequently supposed to be sold to farmers at 50% of the original market price; but the farmer says the subsidy programme is not benefiting, raising questions about where exactly the subsidized fertilizers go.
“If Ghana and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 2 then the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme that was introduced by the government must be scrapped now,” he said.
Farmer Larbi made these remarks in an exclusive interview with the reporter on Ghana’s Agricultural Sector; challenges smallholder farmers face and how sector players are not plateful.
According to him, the youth could find the Agriculture sector attractive to patronize due to mismanagement of the sector, however, it is a noble sector that could employ the majority of the youth of Ghana and Africa.
“During this farming season, a number of we farmers across the country did not benefit from the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme. We are buying our own fertilizers from the open market at a very high price, making things difficult and expensive for young farmers like me”, farmer Larbi bemoaned.
“This season, my vegetables did not mature as expected because of lack of fertilizers and the change in climate pattern at Greater Accra and its environs. I grow vegetables such as Onions, Pepper, Tomato, Okra, Eggplant, Carrots and Cabbage” he added.
Farmer Larbi said farmers were shocked at recent disclosures by the Planting for Food and Jobs Secretariat which indicated that Ghana has lost a whopping 120 million Ghana cedi unaccounted for subsidized fertilizers in 2017 and 2018 planting seasons alone.
“This is a threat to the National Food Security. A lot of farmers’ productivity is low and this is a source of worry” he pointed out.
The CEO used the opportunity to call on the Banking Institutions to invest in irrigation systems and Dams across the country to support boosting productivity in the agriculture sector.
“I am not saying it should be built for free; it should come with a cost and we will pay for its services. Dams provide an annual water supply for consumptive purposes including irrigation, livestock and domestic use. They are important because they improve the viability and productivity of agricultural activities in local regions” he concluded.
The global health crisis (Covid19) has put the economies of several countries around the world in difficulty. Rural populations are the most affected with a relapse into extreme poverty.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), whose mission is to invest in rural people, is not giving up. Faced with the situation, the UN institution encourages States to respond to the most pressing needs of populations linked to the issue of the high cost of living.
“More than half of IFAD’s interventions take place in Africa. The institution offered States the possibility of modifying current projects to meet the most pressing needs linked to the issue of the high cost of living, “said Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, president of IFAD, invited Friday on Togolese television (TVT).
“Concretely this means that Togo can decide that one of its projects which was initially intended to finance young people in cocoa, be modified by taking part of these resources to buy fertilizers if the problem that arises is a problem. fertilizer. It’s a readjustment”, says Houngbo.
He stressed that IFAD does not impose its will on states but on the contrary, gives them the possibility, in the face of the crisis, of readjusting projects according to the real needs expressed on the ground.
Invest in the countryside. The President of IFAD, staying in Lomé, recalled in his speech the vocation of his institution, that of investing in rural areas through concessional loans to States.
“Our vocation is to grant concessional loans, targeting almost 100% rural populations. We target the poorest communities much more,” he said.
He adds that IFAD is a financial institution but at the same time a UN agency that has the particularity of being straddling the United Nations organization and financial institutions.
The former Prime Minister of Togo, Gilbert Houngbo clarified that IFAD is a financial institution just like the World Bank or the African Development Bank (AfDB) which supports States to develop.
“The primary targets are the most remote areas to help them increase their productivity, access markets, create jobs, and increase the income of producers,” said Houngbo.
Active in Togo Togo has always benefited from special attention from IFAD (PNPER, ProMifa, etc.).
President Houngbo reports that in addition to two major projects supported by his institution in Togo, another project, of a regional nature, will shortly be deployed in favor of Togo and Benin.
“For us what is very important is that the funding goes to rural areas. Once we are in rural areas, we can also finance non-agricultural activities, as long as that contributes to job creation and generates income for these peasants,” he said.
While recalling that 75% of the world poor live in rural areas, he underlines that “if we manage to improve the living conditions of our populations in the rural world, we will have taken a giant step forward in achieving the SDGs”.
To date, 20 million people around the world increase their income by at least 20% each year thanks to funding from the Fund. The challenge for IFAD is to consolidate this trajectory so that it is irreversible.
Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for 45% of IFAD’s activities, which makes agriculture a priority. Agricultural production, therefore, needs to be improved, respectful of the environment.
The Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG) has locked horns with the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) over the 50 percent benchmark policy introduced by the government to reduce duties on imported goods, saying, the latter is influencing the government not to exempt vegetable oils from the policy.
According to the association, the policy has created a very unfair competitive environment for the local oil palm industry, as importers are able to sell their products cheaper than those produced locally, hence, its call for the scrapping of the policy on vegetable oils.
For example, the producer association said, the cost of a 25-liter jerrycan of vegetable oil is produced locally at GH¢260 ex-factory price and sold on the market for GH¢265 inclusive of the duty, levies, VAT, and logistics. But with the 50 percent benchmark policy, imported vegetable oils leave the port at GH¢230 and are sold to traders at GH¢255 for onward selling on the market at GH¢260.
Speaking to the B&FT in an interview, the Executive Secretary of OPDAG, Selorm Quame, said the government is willing to exempt vegetable oil importation from the policy but GUTA is using its influence to threaten the government to deter it from reviewing the policy in favour of the local oil palm industry.
“The leadership of GUTA is spreading falsehood to deter the government from reviewing the policy. Since the introduction of the policy in 2019, the impact is adversely affecting the local palm oil industry. The local refineries and manufacturing industries are no longer viable to operate and the concomitant effect is downstream of the values chain which comprises the growers of oil palm – small and large are losing their livelihoods as they cannot sell their fruits sooner rather than later.
The refineries are unable to sell their products competitively against imported vegetable oil which has become cheaper as a result of the effect of the above policy which in essence has subsidized the imports to the disadvantage of local producers,” he said.
He further bemoaned the impact of the policy on jobs lost to the local industry, saying: “GUTA, is not actually fighting for traders but a handful of importers who are making huge profits while Ghanaians are at the risk of losing jobs and subsequently livelihoods at the downstream where hundreds of thousands of rural smallholder/out-grower farmers operate.
The sector is experiencing job and income losses especially in rural areas where local mills and smallholder farmers are actively engaged in the oil palm value chain. A mill that had 500 employees has downsized to 250 employees as at the beginning of 2021,” he added.
He again added that, besides thousands of jobs that are at risk, government programmes such as Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) and the objectives of the Tree Crops Development Authority are in danger of missing the purpose for which they were created.
The association is, therefore, pleading with the government not to succumb to threats from GUTA, but to review the policy to save the local oil palm industry.
“We the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG), being the entire palm oil value chain actors in Ghana, are pleading with the government to review the 50 percent reduction benchmark policy by exempting palm oil from the application of the policy. We are not advocating complete abolition of the policy as being portrayed by Ghana Union of Traders Association,” Mr. Quame said.
The Government, through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has disbursed GH¢160 million out of GH¢213 million required to pay caterers of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) for the first term of the 2021 academic year.
The disbursement of the funds, which commenced on Friday 20th August 2021, covered 62 cooking days of the first term.
A statement signed by Siiba Alfa, Head of Public Relations at the GSFP, said the ongoing payment, however, did not cover the Western and Western North regions due to limited funds.
According to the statement, Ghana School Feeding Programme had received “strong assurance” from the Controller and Accountant General for the release of an additional GH¢53 million to pay the remaining regions as quickly as possible.
The statement said in line with Government’s vision and commitment to sustaining the Programme and improving its quality service to beneficiary pupils, all outstanding arrears would be settled within the framework of the Programme’s contractual obligation with caterers and urged those who had payment related issues to contact Regional Coordinators for speedy resolution.
The statement expressed appreciation to caterers for the services “well rendered” over the period and encouraged them to remain committed to feeding the 3,448,067 beneficiary pupils under the Programme.
