150 young individuals including the physically challenged have been given three days of intensive capacity building in agribusiness.
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Rainforest Alliance distributes PPEs to fight against COVID-19.
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.
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Stakeholders reflect on policies in pastoralism in West Africa.
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.
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Ghana spent over GHc6.8 billion on rice importation in three years – Alan Kyerematen.
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.
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Big blow hits cashew and mango farmers.
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.
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HortiFresh Launch Reports for Horticulture 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.
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LIFESTYLE: Drink these four teas to fight off colds and flu.
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.
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Oil palm plantation: Malaysia awaits consideration from source countries for foreign workers.
Malaysia is now awaiting consideration from source countries, namely Indonesia, in relation to the mechanism to bring in foreign workers for the oil palm plantation sector, said the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC).
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LIFESTYLE: Patients suffering from these diseases must avoid beetroot at all costs.
Beetroot is a rich source of nutrients and is extremely beneficial to our health. Many people include beetroot in their diet in the form of salad. It is rich in nutrients like potassium, iron, magnesium, vitamin B6 and it eliminates the problem of blood anaemia, but The Health Site reports claim that it can also cause side effects. Some people who suffer from particular diseases must not include beetroot in their diet.
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LIFESTYLE: As Omicron looms over our heads, here’re 5 immunity-boosting drinks to make with kitchen ingredients.
Here are five drinks that you can make from simple kitchen ingredients that can help you boost your immunity so your body builds up the strength to put up a fight against foreign pathogens.
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