Prices of agricultural products are forecast to decline by 5% in 2023, reflecting better prospects for global production alongside lower input costs, particularly for fertilizers.
According to the World Bank Food Security Update, despite these projections, prices are expected to remain above pre-pandemic levels.
In addition, the report highlights the possibility that fertiliser prices will continue to rise in response to higher natural gas prices caused by the closure of several European fertiliser manufacturers.
In emerging markets and developing economies, the report said food insecurity remains a serious concern, driven by trade restrictions, weather-related events, and conflict, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Since the last update on December 13, 2022, agricultural, cereal, and export prices have remained relatively stable.
Domestic food price inflation also continues to remain high in almost all countries.
West and Central AfricaThe report said food prices are 36% above the 5-year average.
Inflation averages 18% in an unfavorable environment shaped by the war in Ukraine and devaluation of some local currencies.
It added that conflict and instability continue to drive food insecurity, especially for internally displaced persons, of whom there are currently more than 6.1 million
Cocoa prices are anticipated to move downward in major markets across the globe, as merchants and producers increased net selling positions over the Q1 of 2022/2023 crop season, data from the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) have shown.
The global cocoa market attained a value of nearly US$14.5billion in 2022. The market is further expected to grow at a Compound annual growth rate of 4.7 percent between 2023 and 2028, to a value of US$19.1billion.
However, the ICCO in its projection believes the size of net short positions of commercial traders in Europe and the United States over the 2020/21 – 2022/23 season period could be perceived as a demand for ‘insurance’ against price drops.
“Its change over time can be viewed as the evolution of the risk perception of merchants and producers in the cocoa futures markets,” a portion of the projection from its December 2022 cocoa market report read.
“As opposed to the first three months of the 2021/22 crop year, cocoa merchants and producers increased their net short positions on both sides of the Atlantic over October – December 2022. The behaviour of the above-mentioned category of market participants suggests that – while accounting for all cocoa futures contracts currently active – they perceive for now that cocoa prices are more likely to move downward in both Europe and the United States,” ICCO said.
The ICCO observed that in the United States, average net short positions increased by 26 percent from an average of 21,050 contracts in October to 26,563 contracts in December. Meanwhile, in Europe average net short positions went up by 50 percent from an average of 60,794 contracts to 90,897 contracts.
Ghana’s main destination for cocoa beans exports are: the Netherlands, United States, France, and partly Malaysia and Japan.
Europe is the largest importer of cocoa beans worldwide, with 56 percent of global imports. To compare, North America and Latin America together account for about 17 percent of global cocoa bean imports; and Asia for 26 percent.
In December 2022, prices of the front-month cocoa futures contract averaged US$2,514 per tonne and ranged between US$2,392 and US$2,635 per tonne in London; while in New York the first position contract traded at an average price of US$2,515 per tonne and oscillated between US$2,432 and US$2,629 per tonne.
The Impact on economy
Cocoa is a significant contributor to Ghana’s economy, as the country is the second-largest producer of cocoa in the world with a 20 percent market share.
It ranks second only to mineral exports in terms of foreign exchange earnings, and makes up about 3.5 percent of GDP and 25 percent of total export receipts. The sector also provides a major source of income for farmers, with two-thirds of their income coming from cocoa.
According to Statista, cocoa was projected to contribute GH¢3.41billion (around US$454million) to Ghana’s GDP in 2022 – with a projected increase to GH¢4.01billion (around US$533million) by 2025, the highest contribution within the period observed.
Ghana’s cocoa export projection
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is forecasting 750,000 tonnes of cocoa production in the 2022-2023 crop season, higher than the 2021-2022 season.
The country’s graded and sealed (G&S) cocoa arrivals stand at 350,000 tonnes since the start of this year’s harvest on 1 October – up 76 percent from 199,000 tonnes in same period of the previous season.
The G&S is cocoa that has been quality-checked and sealed in bags by the regulatory body, and is ready to be shipped.
The cocoa regulator expects that the producer price to be paid at all buying centres will be GH¢384 per load of 30 kilogrammes for grade 1 and 2 cocoa beans, or GH¢800 per bag of 64 kilogrammes. A tonne comprising 16 bags is however going for GH¢12,800 (circa US$1207.10).
To foster the development and localization of the SDGs across the African continent and beyond, the Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network Global (GCSAYN) is serving as the driving engine, and Kenya has taken the lead.
The Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has signed an agreement with a private-sector, cassava extension agency to improve the agronomy and utilization of cassava in Ghana.
Heat and drought are the utmost limiting abiotic factors that pose a major threat to food security and agricultural production, and are exacerbated by “extreme and rapid” climate change, according to a new paper in CABI Reviews.
The team of international scientists suggests that it is critical to understand the biochemical, ecological and physiological responses of plants to the stresses of heat and drought in order for more practical solutions and management.They state that plant responses to these challenges may be divided into three categories: phenological, physiological and biochemical.
Lead researcher Dr. Aqarab Husnain Gondal, of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan, argues that due to physical damages, biological disruptions and biochemical abnormalities, sub-optimal water supplies and unusual temperatures negatively affect crop development and yields.
Supported by colleagues from Yarmouk University, Jordan, the National University of Huancavelica, Peru, and the Citrus Research Institute Sagodha, Dr. Gondal says a distinctive aspect of the phenomenon is comparing fundamental behavior with abiotic stresses.
The scientists, referring to a study examining data from research published between 1980 and 2015, state that drought has reduced wheat and maize yields by up to 40% around the world. They also highlight that projections suggest that for every degree Celsius rise in temperature, this would result in a 6% loss in global wheat yields.Dr. Gondal said,
“This review gives a thorough description of the adaptation of plants towards heat and drought stress with a particular emphasis on identifying similarities and variations. Abiotic stresses are reducing crop yield all around the world.
Heat and drought stress causes plants to respond in a variety of ways—the most notable of which is by altering their development and morphology.
“While the capacity of plants to withstand these pressures differs significantly across species, it is worthy to note that recent advances have been achieved in limiting the adverse consequences—either through the use of genetic methods or by the induction of stress tolerance.
“The scientists maintain that despite the fact that heat and drought stress may have a negative impact on the plant’s growth and development, reproductive growth is the most affected.
Anthesis or grain filling stress may have a major impact on crop production if it is mild while damage to the photosynthetic machinery, oxidative stress and membrane instability are also caused by these forces, they say.
Food security could be under serious threat, with the country increasingly reliant on donor agencies and development partners (DPs) to fund local agricultural production and development. This is despite an expected reduction in donor funding support for the country due to the global economic crisis.
A 39-year-old man, Abdulai Ismaila, who braved the odds and emerged the overall best student at the maiden graduation and matriculation of the Bunso Cocoa College, has been offered instant employment by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
The college has been affiliated to the University of Cape Coast, and offers diploma programmes in Agronomy and Extension in Coffee and Cocoa Production.
The graduation ceremony, dubbed: “Raising the Manpower for Resilient Tree Crop Sector”, witnessed the passing out of 69 students, 21 of them obtaining First Class, while 14 grabbed Second Class Upper, and a further 31 got Second Class Lower.
Mr Ismaila, who secured First Class in Agronomy, Coffee and Cocoa Production, was given a standing ovation as he walked over for his academic scroll.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, praised Mr Ismaila for his academic performance, and instantly declared him an employee of COCOBOD.
He stated that Ghana’s economy highly depended on primary production of mining and agricultural produce, mainly cocoa, which were exported for foreign exchange.
He said the agricultural sector, which alone accounted for an average of 35 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), would continue to determine the success of Ghana’s development growth path.
Value addition
Dr Boahen said agriculture must, therefore, be seen as business and a value addition venture.
He indicated that the export of cocoa, gold and timber accounted for the bulk of mechanised exports.
He explained that until recently, agriculture, particularly small-scale agriculture, was viewed from the lenses of rural development, and that strategy had used agriculture as a tool to manage rural poverty.
He indicated that agriculture value chain was changing national policies, strategies, and programmes to attract investments, especially in export value chain, and stressed, however, that most small-holder participants in that sector remained under-invested.
Dr Boahen said although successive governments invested heavily in the agricultural sector, such investments had not yielded the necessary impact in terms of propelling the sector to drive the country’s economic development.
Dr Boahen explained that technology and research were the driving force needed for the transformation of the economy, and that the future of the agricultural sector was all about science, technology and education.
While congratulating the students and staff of the college, Dr Boahen stressed the need for the institution to broaden its scope of programmes it offered to include cocoa industrialisation, food nutrition and farm management.
He urged the management of the college to introduce innovative programmes that would produce the next generation of local engineers to transform the local cocoa processing sector through artisanal chocolate manufacturing.
Employment
The acting Rector of the Bunso Cocoa College, Dr Mercy Asamoah, encouraged companies, organisations and individuals, as well as the business community interested in developing the tree crop sector, especially cocoa, to offer employment for the graduands.
She also appealed to COCOBOD to consider offering employment either permanent or on contract basis to the graduands.
Dr Asamoah said the college’s infrastructure such as lecture rooms, constructed in 1950, had become old and inadequate, along with the boarding facilities. Other challenges, she stated, included staff bungalows and the lack of a fitting library.
She also appealed to COCOBOD to offer scholarship for graduands intending to further their education.
Take a spoonful of rice and set it on fire. What happens next will make you tick.
China remains the largest rice producer in the world. The Middle Empire harvests more than 200 million tons of rice a year and a large number is exported all over the world.
Farmers group has called on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to consider a young relentless farmer as the Minister for the sector following the resignation of Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Agric.
In a statement released by the group, they mentioned that the young farmer could not be any other person than Nana Oboadie Boateng Bonsu who has the interest of the farmers at heart.
The statement reads:
It has come to our notice that Minister of Agric has resigned to join the Npp Presidential race and we wish him good luck for taking such a bold decision. We also thank the minister for his hard work and the initiative: Planting for Food and Jobs and Rearing for Food and Jobs.
we want to use this medium to inform the President to consider we the farmers when appointing new minister to such a prestigious office.
The collation of all the farmers in Ghana is proposing Nana Oboadie Boateng Bonsu who is the president of the Concerned Framers Association of Ghana to President to appoint him as the Minister of Agricultural.
Nana Oboadie Boateng Bonsu has been in the agric sector for the past 25 Yeats and have work with various farmer groups in Ghana.
He is very hard working ,voice for the farmers, he has tour the breath and length of this country and know the challenges the sector is facing and he has converted thousands of galamsey youth into farming .
He is the farmers choice and we believe that he will deliver .
we are therefore asking the President to appoint him to be the Minister of Agric.
Try and tested. Gustav Annor Communication Director
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has resigned.
He tendered his resignation to President Akufo-Addo a while ago.This comes four days after Trade Minister, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, resigned from the government.
JoyNews Presidential Affairs correspondent, Elton Brobbey, in an interview on News Night on Joy FM, Tuesday said the Minister had a meeting with President where he submitted the letter.
Our correspondent said the President accepted Dr Akoto’s resignation and wished him well in his endeavours.
Ostensibly, this is to enable Dr Afriyie Akoto concentrate on his presidential ambition.
Dr Afriyie Akoto is one of the NPP stalwarts eyeing the flagbearership position of the party for the 2024 elections.
Besides he and Mr. Alan Kyerematen, Mr. Kwabena Agyapong, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, Mr. Joe Ghartey and Mr. Boagye Agyarko have all declared their intention to contest the flagbearership of the NPP.
Meanwhile, the party is yet to come out with a date for the presidential primaries.
Speaking on the same show, Henry Nana Boakye, National Organiser of NPP, said a date will be set for the election “in accordance with our constitution.”
