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CAG paid a courtesy call on the new Turkish Ambassador to strengthen the agribusiness trade between the two countries.

The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana CAG has paid a courtesy call on the new Turkish Ambassador. The visit was to officially introduce the Chamber to the Ambassador, discuss the opportunities in Ghana’s agriculture sector and collaborative strategies aimed at promoting and strengthening agribusiness trade between Ghana and Turkey.

Chief Executive Officer of CAG, Farmer Anthony Morrison in his introductory remarks congratulated the Ambassador and his government on wining their election, and expressed  his condolences on the earthquake that struck the country, claiming thousands of lives.

Farmer Morrison noted that though a cordial relationship exists between the Chamber and the Turkey since 2015, which has led to some trade tours to Turkey engaging several Turkish businesses with the prospects of  engaging in businesses in Ghana, there is the need to properly profile these businesses for proper due diligence checks.

He noted that due to Turkey’s high technological capabilities, the Chamber’s focus will be on finding ways to develop trade in areas of skills and knowledge transfer under agricultural technology, agro processing among others.  “In areas of industry, we are opened to embrace a lot of Turkish companies, government has One District One factory, as one of its projects, so there are lots of opportunities for Turkish agro processing companies to tap into our agro processing industry and other value addition ventures” he added.

He mentioned Ghana’s cashew, mango, coffee , cocoa and citrus, as some of the strongest industries in Africa, and areas that should be tapped into for development whiles exploring  Turkey’s strong poultry, livestock and wheat bran industry to improve on Ghana’s agricultural sector.

Farmer Morrison advocated the design of a more deliberate and strategic  trade summit that is geared towards connecting and bringing together businesses and investors from both countries to promote and deepen trade between Ghana and Turkey. In this light, he added that the Chamber will set up a trade facilitation desk to promote information sharing and trade between Ghana and Turkey.

The Turkish Ambassador to Ghana, Hüseyin Güngör who received the team mentioned agriculture and technology as the two key areas of partnership his outfit will be focusing on. 

According to him, discussions are underway with the University of Ghana, School of Agriculture for a capacity building program for students.

He commended the Chamber for the visit so reiterate the importance to continuing partner with the embassy on Agribusiness to promote the economy.

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CSIR/Crops Research Institute prioritizes climate resilient technologies under new strategic plan.

Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-CRI), has prioritized the development of superior consumer-acceptable climate-resilient technologies under its 5-year Strategic Plan.

The 2023–2027 strategic plan is targeted at commercializing agricultural research and innovations to support agricultural growth and industrialization for improved livelihoods.

“We have not gotten the kind of support that we have been expecting from industry. Our main support has been coming from donors, but within this strategic plan we are going to make a very conscious effort to bring in industry,” said Dr Maxwell Asante, Deputy Director of CSIR-CRI and Chairperson of the implementing committee of the strategic plan.

The CSIR-CRI broad research mandate covers food and industrial crops; including cereals, legumes, roots and tubers, tropical fruits and vegetables.

The production of these crops is under the threat of climate change as farmers experience erratic rains in recent times.

Projections by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that warming scenarios risk having devastating effects on crop production and food security, especially for Africa where agriculture accounts for the majority of livelihoods.

Key risks to agriculture include reduced crop productivity associated with heat and drought stress and increased pest damage, disease damage and flood impacts on food system infrastructure, resulting in serious adverse effects on food security and on livelihoods at the regional, national and individual household levels. 

The CSIR-CRI supports farmers to adopt new agricultural technologies.

Dr Asante observed that without access to irrigation, improved seedlings and agronomic technologies, farmers are unable to be climate resilient.

“The whole idea is to equip breeders with new technologies to breed varieties that are for this current environment because if you bred a variety 30 years ago and farmers are cultivating it now, it was not bred for that environment,” he noted.

“We have equipped our breeders with modern tools, DNA, markers, speed breeding so that every two years, they can generate new varieties and those varieties will be tested in this current environment and therefore it will work for our farmers in their field.

Farmers, traditionally, are inclined to clear new fields for crop production, in which process they contribute to deforestation and depletion of carbon sinks that eventually lead to climate change.

The crop researchers are already encouraging farmers to plant on continuously cropped fields, especially in the production of yam. This means they will not open up new areas to have the carbon sinks intact.

According to Dr Foster Boateng, Management Board Chair of CSIR-CRI, “research is coming out with varieties that are drought-tolerant because now you know that climate change has set in… research must come out with varieties that can command genetic advantage. That can withstand drought. That can withstand diseases and pests. Otherwise, there’s nothing we can do.

“And we can’t put more land under cultivation. Because when you put more land under cultivation, we know that agriculture also speeds up deforestation. So once you research and get genetic materials that command that advantage, we can go on vertical expansion in production rather than horizontal expansion in production”.

The adoption of climate smart agricultural practices is the way to go for Ghanaian farmers.

The farmers will need resilient crop varieties and farming technologies, increased diversification of agriculture systems, promotion of simple irrigation facilities, and training to change from the old ways of farming.

“Our agronomists are also doing a lot, they are doing things like new irrigation technologies so that we don’t use a lot of water in the field; we are looking for technologies that use less nitrogen so that there is less emission of greenhouse gases. The varieties, the agronomy and training, a lot of training in farmers are part of the strategy,” said Dr Asante.

He believes the partnership with industry will help finance research and make technologies accessible to farmers.

“We have products we can launch to industrial people who want to pay a little for us to plough back into our research; show them different varieties and technologies associated with it for them to invest in the technologies,” noted the rice breeder.

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QU Dongyu of China re-elected FAO Director-General.

Photos from the World Cotton Day photo gallery may be reproduced provided attribution is given to the WTO and the WTO is informed. Photos: © WTO/ Roxana Paraschiv

Overwhelming support confirms second term as head of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

QU Dongyu was yesterday re-elected to a second term as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In ballot by FAO member countries, Qu received a total of 168 out of 182 votes deposited.

Nominated by China, Qu was the only candidate to FAO’s top position in today’s election. His new term will run from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2027.

The election took place on the second day of the FAO Conference (1-7 July).

Since being elected FAO Director-General for the first time in 2019, Qu has championed a wide range of reforms and initiatives to overhaul the Organization’s business model, improving efficiency and implementing best practices that support programme and administrative effectiveness.

FAO’s transparency, visibility and reputation has continued to increase over the last four years, amid major global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other protracted conflicts, economic downturns, and the intensifying climate crisis.

Qu has strongly advocated for the transformation of agrifood systems to make them more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable, with the ultimate goal of helping Members achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promote the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

For that, FAO has focused on boosting science and innovation and launched some important strategic initiatives. The Hand-in-Hand Initiative, for example, supports the implementation of nationally led, ambitious programmes to accelerate agrifood systems transformations. It uses advanced geospatial modeling and analytics, as well as a robust partnership building to raise incomes, improve the nutritional status and well-being of poor and vulnerable populations, and strengthen resilience to climate change.

In the emergency and humanitarian response, FAO has been advocating for greater investment in medium and long-term resilience building, livelihood protection and disaster risk reduction support alongside humanitarian actions, especially in fragile contexts. In this sense, the Organization has stepped up its work in prevention and anticipation with the aim to address the root causes of food crises.

Another highlight of Qu’s leadership was the creation of the World Food Forum (WFF) in 2021. Over the past two years, the WFF has identified powerful ideas, scientific and evidence-based knowledge, innovations, policies and solutions, while forging new partnerships and investment opportunities to transform our agrifood systems.

The WFF will continue to expand its reach in 2023, and draw a clear connection to the theme of climate action, while the global events in October will again encompass three pillars: the Global Youth Forum, the FAO Hand-in-Hand Forum and the FAO Science and Innovation Forum.

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QU Dongyu of China re-elected FAO Director-General.

Photos from the World Cotton Day photo gallery may be reproduced provided attribution is given to the WTO and the WTO is informed. Photos: © WTO/ Roxana Paraschiv

Overwhelming support confirms second term as head of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

QU Dongyu was today re-elected to a second term as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In ballot by FAO member countries, Qu received a total of 168 out of 182 votes deposited.

Nominated by China, Qu was the only candidate to FAO’s top position in today’s election. His new term will run from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2027.

The election took place on the second day of the FAO Conference (1-7 July).

Since being elected FAO Director-General for the first time in 2019, Qu has championed a wide range of reforms and initiatives to overhaul the Organization’s business model, improving efficiency and implementing best practices that support programme and administrative effectiveness.

FAO’s transparency, visibility and reputation has continued to increase over the last four years, amid major global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other protracted conflicts, economic downturns, and the intensifying climate crisis.

Qu has strongly advocated for the transformation of agrifood systems to make them more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable, with the ultimate goal of helping Members achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promote the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

For that, FAO has focused on boosting science and innovation and launched some important strategic initiatives. The Hand-in-Hand Initiative, for example, supports the implementation of nationally led, ambitious programmes to accelerate agrifood systems transformations. It uses advanced geospatial modeling and analytics, as well as a robust partnership building to raise incomes, improve the nutritional status and well-being of poor and vulnerable populations, and strengthen resilience to climate change.

In the emergency and humanitarian response, FAO has been advocating for greater investment in medium and long-term resilience building, livelihood protection and disaster risk reduction support alongside humanitarian actions, especially in fragile contexts. In this sense, the Organization has stepped up its work in prevention and anticipation with the aim to address the root causes of food crises.

Another highlight of Qu’s leadership was the creation of the World Food Forum (WFF) in 2021. Over the past two years, the WFF has identified powerful ideas, scientific and evidence-based knowledge, innovations, policies and solutions, while forging new partnerships and investment opportunities to transform our agrifood systems.

The WFF will continue to expand its reach in 2023, and draw a clear connection to the theme of climate action, while the global events in October will again encompass three pillars: the Global Youth Forum, the FAO Hand-in-Hand Forum and the FAO Science and Innovation Forum.

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FDA cautions food vendors to commit to safety standards.

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has issued a stern warning to food vendors and sellers of medicinal products, emphasizing the need to strictly adhere to approved food safety standards.

Failure to comply may result in severe consequences imposed by the FDA.

To ensure compliance, the FDA has intensified its monitoring of advertisements on electronic and social media platforms.

This heightened surveillance has already led to several arrests. 

Speaking to Citi News, the Ashanti Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority, John Laryea Odai Tettey advised food vendors to ensure they register their businesses and emphasized the need for them to always take the receipts or purchase documents.

He further urged the vendors to ensure that the food they prepare are safe for human consumption.

“We have collaborated with the environmental health unit of the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and inspected the vending points as well as the food preparation points of these street food vendors. The advice for the vendors is that you will have to ensure that whatever you put out there for sale is safe for human consumption.”

“If it’s the process of food, then you have to make sure that it has to be registered, and you must always take the receipts or purchase documents from wherever you get it from,” the Ashanti Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority entreated.

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Farmers, and drivers bewail deplorable Seikwa-Sampa road.

A food crop community road, Seikwa-Sampa road spanning approximately 25 kilometers and located in the Jaman North District, has become a cause for concern among drivers and passengers.

The road’s current condition is in a state of disrepair, posing numerous dangers to those who rely on it for transportation.

Of particular concern is the impact on the transportation of agricultural goods such as yam, cassava, cashew, and other crops. The poor state of the road makes it increasingly difficult for drivers to navigate, especially during the rainy season when the situation worsens.

Smaller vehicles are particularly affected, exacerbating the challenges faced by both drivers and passengers.

Adding to the frustration is the fact that a contractor was assigned to address the road’s issues but seemingly abandoned the project for the past two years, leaving the road in a state of neglect without any clear explanation.

Commuters who spoke to Adom News expressed their disappointment in the government’s overall approach to road infrastructure in the Tain District.

They called on the government to take immediate action to rectify the situation and improve the road conditions for the safety and convenience of all road users.

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The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana to set up the West Africa-Turkish Trade Facilitations Desk to promote agriculture trade between Ghana and Turkey.

Anthony Morrison, CEO, Chamber of Agribusiness

The growing momentum of Ghana’s agriculture needs more strategic and resourced nations that could boost the fast growing sector into a stable one to sustain her citizens

According to Farmer  Morrison, the CEO of the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana(CAG), the Chamber is to set up the West Africa-Turkish trade facilitations desk promote agriculture trade between Ghana and Turkey.

“We intend to set up a Ghana-Turkish Trade Facilitation Desk at the chamber after our our with the Turkish ambassador to deepen the future collaboration to promote agribusiness trade between the two countries. Interestingly, the ambassador is in discussion with the University of Ghana (UG) for a capacity building for some of the students”, Farmer Morrison said.

He added that as the Chamber looks forward to deepening the Turkish-Africa SMEs program, likely for Ghana it is a strong SME start up program and the Chamber is hoping to link the SMEs to the Turkish partners to increase bilateral trade as well as tap into areas of investment, financial support, skills development, technology and many others.

He cautioned the mindset of African entrepreneurs to change as they need to be re-engaged because the Turkish entrepreneurs are fast in doing business and do not waste time in business engagements as compare to Africans.

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Seeding the Future Global Food System Challenge

Deadline: 1-Aug-23

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the Seeding the Future Foundation are calling on all scientists, engineers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and multidisciplinary teams from non – governmental organizations (NGOs), non – profits, social enterprises, universities, research institutions as well as small and emerging for-profit enterprises to submit game changing innovations that will help transform the food system

Hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists and funded by the Seeding The Future Foundation, the Challenge is intended to support innovations that have the potential for significant impact at scale and over time, and benefit at least one or more of the following intersecting domains: nutritious food for a healthy diet; sustainably produced; and accessible, appealing, affordable, and trusted by consumers.

The goal of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge is to inspire and support innovative, diverse, and multidisciplinary teams to create game-changing innovations that will help transform the food system.

Mission: Seeding The Future’s mission is to seed and support impactful initiatives and organizations that create and accelerate the pace of innovations that help transform food systems to become more nutritious, regenerative, and equitable for everyone in alignment with the overall vision.

Vision: Seeding The Future’s vision is a global food system that always provides equitable access to safe, nutritious, trusted, affordable and appealing food for everyone and improves the health of people and the planet by being sustainable, resilient, and regenerative. The moonshot goal is to positively impact the lives of one billion people.

Innovation Focus Areas

  • Empower Conscious Consumer Choices
  • Safe Nutritious Food for a  Healthy Diet
  • Sustainable Regenerative Practices.
Award Levels
  • The Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge will provide monetary awards in the form of grants and prizes totaling up to one million US dollars annually. They invite applicants from national or international universities, research institutions, or nonprofit organizations, as well as small or early-stage North American or European for-profit businesses.
  • The Challenge will provide three levels of awards to incentivize transformative food system innovations at different stages of their development. Applications can only be submitted at one award level.
    • Seed Grants ($25,000 each) will be awarded to organizations that are planting and nurturing high-potential, innovative ideas and have developed a prototype and/or initial proof of concept demonstrating feasibility. Innovation must benefit at least one, ideally two domains of the Innovation Focus Area without negatively impacting the others.
    • Growth Grants ($100,000 each) will be awarded to organizations that have demonstrated that their innovation is doable and have projected both economic feasibility at scale and high-impact potential to transform the food system. The innovation must benefit at least two, ideally three domains with no negative impact on the others.
    • Seeding The Future Grand Prizes ($250,000 each) will be awarded to organizations that have created innovations that are scalable, economically feasible at scale, trusted, and compelling to consumers, and have demonstrated major impact potential to transform the food system. The innovation must benefit at least two, ideally three domains with no negative impact on the others.
Eligibility Criteria
  • To be eligible for an award, the project must be innovative, impactful and lead to new advances that benefit at least one but ideally more than one of the intersecting domains of the Innovation Focus Area, shown in the diagram, while not negatively affecting any of the other domains. Innovations that benefit two or more domains and are at an advanced development stage are eligible for the highest award levels. The definition of Innovation in the context of this challenge is: A novel idea, approach, concept or technology that is practicable and leads to a significant beneficial for people or the environment.
  • The following organizations are eligible to compete in the Challenge:
    • Non-profits located in any country
    • Academic or research institutions located in any country
    • Early-stage or emerging North American or European based for-profit companies (‘small companies’)
  • Individuals are not eligible to apply. Please note, however, that teams of students or researchers may participate as part of their University or Research Institution’s submission. Organizations are encouraged to form teams to compete in the Challenge. If two or more organizations form a team to compete, they should choose one of the organizations to serve as the applicant.

Documents to Verify Your Organizational Status and Financial Standing

  • North American or European based for-profit organizations must submit:
    • Most recent financial statement that includes a budget and revenue (including disclosure of current levels of investment and financial assets)
    • Articles of Incorporation or similar documents
    • Federal Tax ID Number (TIN) or tax status documentation
    • Certificate of good standing, indicating that the business is properly registered with the state or country
  • U.S. based non-profit organizations must submit:
    • Most recent financial statement (audited financials preferred but not required)
    • Most recent 990 -OR-
    • IRS letter of determination
  • Non-profit organizations based outside of the United States must submit:
    • Most recent financial statement (audited financials preferred but not required)
    • Documentation verifying that the applicant organization is currently registered as a non-profit organization (equivalent to a US 501(c)(3) public charity) in its country. Please note that IFT may follow up to request additional documentation to verify the applicant’s non-profit status.
What the Challenge Won’t Fund
  • Projects that have a negative effect on either the safety or healthfulness of food, the sustainability of the food supply chain or, that are unlikely to be accepted by the end-user or consumer
  • Theoretical concepts or ideas without any experiments or a reduction to practice
  • Individual persons
  • Projects where funds will be used to support large for-profit entities in their commercial activities such as R&D, Innovation, Manufacturing or Sales/Marketing
  • Initiatives which are not scalable beyond the initial project scope and have limited projected impact over time
  • Projects associated with political campaigns or lobbying
  • Capital campaigns
  • For profit entities with significant financial assets or which passed Series A financing round.
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Small and Large Grants Program for the Advocates of Climate Change Mitigation

The Minor Foundation for Major Challenges (MFMC) is now inviting applications for its Small and Large Grants Program to support advocates of climate change mitigation.

MFMC is a Norwegian foundation that supports communication projects which advance the transition to a low carbon economy. The Foundation also supports projects that support urgent, large-scale transformation, with a focus on changing policies and practices in public or private institutions.

Priorities
  • The foundation’s priorities for 2019-2023 are to
    • encourage and support innovation in climate communication
    • increase the number of voices and narratives in climate advocacy
    • help strengthen social and political movements that open up for radical change
    • concentrate on supporting European proposals
Types of Grants
  • Large Grants: In this category, MFMC is looking for projects typically in the range of EUR 20,000 to EUR 200,000, although larger projects may be considered. The application process consists of two steps, where interested organizations are asked to initially submit a short pitch. Based on this, the organization may be invited to submit a full application if the MFMC board finds the project appealing.
  • Small Grants: In this category, it is possible to apply for smaller grants of up to EUR 10,000 in a simplified one-stage process. Applications will be assessed by the MFMC board based on its aims and strategy.
Eligibility Criteria
  • The Foundation supports advocates of climate change mitigation. The calls for applications are open to international applicants.

For more information, visit MFMC.

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Broadspectrum Limited, Melcom, Amas Farms partner with Agrihouse Foundation for the Ghana Poultry Day

Broad spectrum, Melcom, Amas Farms, are among leading organizations supporting this year’s Ghana Poultry Day and the 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival, at the forecourt of the State House, on Saturday, July 1, 2023.

Other organizations also providing financial and technical support include Qualiplast, Chilli Belly, Boris B Chicken, Flour Mills, Maphilix Trust Ghana Limited, Fidelity Bank, ADDFRA, Dainess Chief School, Joerees Farms, and Agrogenics Ltd.

In a press statement, Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Ms. Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, said the contributions of these organizations reinforce the importance of collaborations and further highlights the pivotal roles they play in the growth and success of Ghana’s poultry industry.

“The Ghana Poultry Day and the 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival, would not be possible without the support of these sponsors, and we are uttermost grateful for their support,” she said.

She said this year’s exciting full day event would not only highlight the immense potentials of Ghana’s poultry industry, but also provide a platform for industry networking and knowledge sharing among stakeholders.

While all sponsors have reiterated the need for intensive advocacy, platforms, interventions and events that highlight the contributions of poultry sector stakeholders to national growth and development, implementing partners like Ghana Egg Secretariat, Ghana Poultry Farmers Association, and National Farmers and Fishermen Awards Winners Association of Ghana, have joined Agrihouse Foundation to urge government to institutionalize July 1 as Ghana Poultry Day.

The official media partners for the Ghana Poultry Day and the 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival includes; Agric Today, Kantanka Tv, EIB Network, Angel FM and TV and Uniq Fm. 

“We are grateful to all these organizations who are collaborating and supporting our cause because they believe in the vision. Their sponsorship demonstrates their dedication to fostering growth and excellence within the poultry sector,” Ms. Akosa said.

The Ghana poultry Day and 3rd Ghana Chicken Festival is scheduled for Saturday, July 1, 2023, will be an unforgettable experience, displaying the achievements, challenges, and potential of Ghana’s poultry sector.

The poultry sector is indeed an essential part of the agriculture industry and in recognition of this all – important sector, Members of parliament, CEO of Various Companies, Tv and Radio personalities across the country will be cooking up a storm with their own chicken dishes as a way of raising awareness about the importance of our local poultry products.

Attendees can expect activity line-ups including exhibitions, enlightening panel discussions from various key stakeholders in the poultry sector, culinary, cultural festivities that celebrate the essence of Ghana’s rich poultry heritage, talk on Nutritional values of poultry and Egg dishes training.

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