Tomatoes, in their numerous forms, are a globally famed staple crop with countless regional variants. Currently ranked 319th on the list of the world’s most traded products in 2022, it is one of the most studied commercial vegetable and greenhouse crops in the world.
The Volta Regional Office of the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) in collaboration with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ghana Standard Authority have intercepted imported Indian rice suspected to contain lead.
The brand of the rice, ‘Simba’ Rice, which is unwholesome for consumption, was impounded at the customs duty yard at Aflao Border in the Volta Region on November 14, 2022.
Mr. Gordon Akurugu, the Volta Regional Head of the FDA, briefing the media said 22 bags of rice were impounded as a result of enhanced surveillance operations by the Authority, following an alert issued by the Ministry of National Security regarding the rice on May 16, 2022.
He said the Ministry of National Security issued the alert following the interception of the brand of rice by the Nigerian Customs Authority, of which one thousand (1,000) sampled contained lead residue on May 5, 2022.
Mr. Akurugu said further investigations and interrogation with the traders involved revealed that the suspected rice was being offered for sale at a very low price in Togo and that it was an indicator that Ghana was the next targeted destination.
Mr. Akurugu disclosed that an alert had been sent to the neighboring borders and the patrol teams to keep high surveillance to prevent the rice into the country due to its food safety implications for the citizens.
He commended the National Intelligence Bureau, National Security, Military Intelligence, Ghana Immigration Service, National Narcotic Commission, and the Customs Division of the GRA for their effective collaboration and vigilance in safeguarding public safety.
Mr. Akurugu further disclosed that his outfit carried out market surveillance at some supermarkets and cold storage facilities in the Region on two brands of frozen poultry sausage linked to an outbreak of listeriosis in Italy between October 4 and 5, 2022.
“The activity was necessitated following an FSN alert that all AIA Wudy and Pavo brands of frozen poultry sausage with dates until November 30, 2022, were affected.”
Mr. Akurugu said the facilities visited were inspected and records of them were also reviewed to ascertain the delivery or purchase of the implicated product. “Four (4) cartoons and 27 packs of frozen Pavo Frankfurt IL Wurstel DI Pollo E Tarchino Congelato with expiry date November were detained,’ he said.
He said the exercise did not establish the presence of AIA Wudy Sausage on the market, however, the existence of the Pavo brand was established and further investigation was ongoing to get the supplier of the implicated product.
Mr. Akurugu urged the public to be vigilant about their consumption patterns, especially during this festive season, stressing that the health of the public was their priority.
Consumers should expect to pay a premium for the main delicacy of Christmas – fowl, as prices on the market have shot up by at least 75 percent due to high cost of production in the country’s poultry farms.
President of the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF), Victor Oppong Adjei, has indicated that even though fowl are in abundance for the Christmas festivities and New Year celebrations, customers will have to pay more than the price they paid for the same fowl last year.
According to him, layer-birds are selling at GH₵70 though they were sold at GH₵40 last year. The broilers, which used to sell at GH₵80 last year are now selling between GH₵120 and GH₵150 depending on weight and size.
He explained that this development is due to farmers having had to pay more than thrice the former price for farm inputs, especially for feed, over the period.
“We have enough birds to sell this Christmas. Some farmers are raising broilers to meet the demand. So the chicken will not be the problem – except that the price will be a bit higher because of the input prices which have gone up. We were buying a tonne of feed for GH₵1,500; and as we speak now, it has shot up to over GH₵6,000.
So, the way that input prices have gone up, it has affected everything; so we have agreed to adjust the prices,” he said.
Poultry industry near collapse
He expressed worry that authorities are not heeding the pleas of poultry farmers, as most of them are running into debt – to the extent of losing their working capital.
“If we don’t take care, there will be a time when we will not have a single poultry farmer in the country because you are supposed to do business and get profit. But if you continue to pile up debt, as we speak now, some farmers are in court; some have died because of the sad situation; some have lost their properties; some have lost their working capital, and a whole lot of things. It’s very challenging and something must be done about it as soon as possible to salvage the situation,” he stressed.
Mr. Oppong Adjei blamed the inability of authorities to deal with the situation on their misunderstanding of the poultry industry, and suggested ways of helping to assuage the situation.
“If they understood our work, they would appreciate the challenges and act accordingly. They should have already called us for a round-table meeting to have discussions as to how the industry can be revamped. Up till now, we talk but nobody minds us… and that’s very bad. We are building an economy and we have to come together to discuss the issue and see how best we can resolve it,” he noted.
Industry potential
He further explained how the poultry industry can help turn around the economy, as it can create over a million jobs.
“The poultry industry is big, with a potential of creating a million jobs; so we should be given recognition so that we use it to change dynamics of the economy by creating jobs and impacting it – and also help to stabilise the cedi because we use a lot of money importing chicken; so why don’t we produce locally so that money can stay in the country and reduce the pressure on the cedi,” he emphasised.
Africa must feed itself so that it restores its dignity and pride in food production and becomes self-sufficient, riding on the strength of research work by its tertiary institutions, President Mnangagwa has said.
He said it is high time that the African continent has high regard for agriculture and get rid of the mind-set of viewing it as a primitive activity that could not be undertaken by educated persons.
The President said this last night when he was officially opening the Regional Universities Forum For Capacity Building annual general meeting that drew academics, researchers from different universities in Africa.
“Drawing from our rich African traditional knowledge systems, linkages between agriculture and nutrition should be enhanced to improve the health and well-being of our people.
The agriculture value chain presents a plethora of opportunities, which the Forum should fully explore. These must see overall increase in agriculture exports from the continent to other parts of the world.
The current Status quo where Africa is a net importer of food is untenable,’ said President Mnangagwa.
“Collectively let us restore African pride and dignity. Our forefathers were highly respected by their own communities.
They lived in dignity despite what they put on. You may dress like a Hollywood star but you have no dignity because you have lost your culture.
“The mind-set that agriculture is for the backward should change, agriculture is for the sophisticated.
The bottom line remains, Africa must feed itself. Agriculture must be made attractive and lucrative sector for our young people to undertake.”
President Mnangagwa said it is critical to note that a larger percentage of the continent’s population resides in rural areas, earning a living from agriculture.
“Increasing production and productivity levels in the sector therefore remains critical for a higher quality of life and improved incomes among grassroots communities.
It is further imperative that we leverage on our abundant arable land, dams and rivers to increase agriculture output,” said President Mnangagwa.
The Forum, he said, should come up with implementable strategies for accelerated agriculture growth and food systems given challenges such as climate change and land degradation.
President Mnangagwa said there is a need for stakeholders to do more in closing glaring gaps between research outcomes, for example with regards to recommended yields per hectare and actual yields realised by farmers.
“Your work as academics and researchers, must translate to high impact research outcomes that impact the actual productivity levels within our agriculture sector.
Research support must be channelled towards priority areas and the advancement of an agenda that promotes sustainable agriculture towards ending hunger and poverty on the continent,’ he said.
“Our institutions of higher learning are called upon to be more responsive and relevant to the needs of our needs of our grassroots communities and respective economics as a whole.
“Undeniably, a properly configured higher education sector is a powerful catalyst for the transformation of our economies, towards knowledge driven economic growth in our African continent.”
President Mnangagwa said his Government has since move away from a restrictive education to one that produces goods and services.
“In the case of Zimbabwe, my Government recognised that the restrictive old system of education which entailed merely writing, reading and arithmetic, was inadequate for the transformation, modernisation and industrialisation and growth of our economy.
“We thus made a conscious decision to transform our education to one which is geared towards production of goods and services using local resources,’ said President Mnangagwa.
He said there is a need to strengthen the resolve to achieve the collective goal for Africa.
“This must be driven by us, African citizens, from Cape to Cairo through deepening our cooperation as well as exploiting our collaborative undertakings and regional synergies, he said.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga commended President Mnangagwa for his astute leadership saying it is bearing fruit. “He is a man on a mission with a clear vision for a prosperous Zimbabwe,
He said universities had heeded President Mnangagwa’’s call to produce goods and services, something that helped in saving more than US$300 million on the import bill during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, said if properly structured, education must save people from poverty.
“We have many universities in Africa but we have few African universities,” said Prof Murwira. Forum Executive secretary, Professor Adipala Ekwamu commended the Zimbabwean Government for its efforts to turn around the education system in the country.
Food and Agriculture Organisation, Assistant Director, Professor Abebe Haile-Gabriel said there is a need for the African continent to fight poverty and hunger which he said is still prevalent in the continent.
The Forum has more than 150 universities from the continent including eight from Zimbabwe The event was attended by Government Ministers from Africa, Vice Chancellors of universities in Africa, academics, researchers and senior Government officials.
The Founder & Multiple award-winner, Issa Ouedraogo of B-BOVID Farms is asking the government to invest more in sustainable agriculture and climate change adaptability which will help drive increased productivity, enhanced resilience, and reduced emissions across the country.
He explained that climate-smart agriculture is an integrated approach to managing landscapes, cropland, livestock, forests, and fisheries that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change disputes.
“Our success in the application of social and scientific innovation to agribusiness is ample evidence that with strategic thinking, commitment, and long-term investment, Ghana can reap the benefits of sustainable agriculture sooner rather than later.
“The growing country population and changing diets are driving up the high demand for food and different taste and flavors of course; that is why I have introduced the alternative farmer’s day on the farm initiative, which will be celebrated every year on our farms to inspire tomorrow’s leaders visiting my Farms and also show them the bounties of nature that is protected and nurtured lovingly, to both young and the old” he added.
The Social Entrepreneur made these remarks in an interview with this reporter on Ghana’s Agricultural Sector and how a concerted, systematic, national action must be adopted to stop negative human activities that destroy our country and the fact that human survival could be at risk.
He mentioned that as part of the strategy to promote the concept of social entrepreneurship among its network of smallholder farmers, B-BOVID has set up an Alternative Livelihood Center that provides opportunities in fish farming, animal husbandry, beekeeping, and organic farming to create hundreds of jobs, ensure additional incomes for farmers and address the problem of malnutrition across the region.
“The Center also supports the farmers with seedlings, new varieties of seeds, and a shopping center where farm implements are subsidized for its farmers.
“The company also maintains a modern, state-of-the-art Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Center that helps the farmers to acquire relevant research information through mobile phone technology.
“The company practices a socially inclusive model of agriculture that incorporates agroforestry techniques, mechanization, alternative livelihood enhancement, eco-diversity, ecological tourism, research and marketing, rain harvesting technology that enables farming throughout the year to ensure food security, coupled with an intensive program for youth training and empowerment as its core mandate,” he said.
According to him, his indigenous Ghanaian agribusiness company has actively pursued and modeled its business operations on climate change adaptation, agroforestry, and biodiversity for over 18 years with incredible results.
“B-BOVID has become a renowned center of excellence and innovation in agribusiness in Ghana, attracting government delegations, foreign guests, researchers including university professors, ambassadors, local and international media, chiefs and community leaders, students, investors, and students from various research institutions” he indicated.
He used the opportunity to call on the government to protect local investors and organizations in the sector from individuals and organizations who connive to dupe them of their expertise and concepts.
“The premise is that without organizational protectionism a nation could lose long-established industries and organizations that first made a product in a particular country.
“If not addressed immediately; this will eventually result in the loss of jobs, rising unemployment, and eventual decrease of a region or nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)” he said.
Mighty Earth, a global advocacy organisation, in collaboration with EcoCare, has introduced a new Cocoa Accountability Map for Ghana to track cocoa-driven deforestation.
The December edition of the Ghana Garden and Flower Show has been held at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra to spread the love for a greener, cleaner, healthier, and a more beautiful Ghana.
The program, organised by the Strategic Communications Africa Limited (Stratcomm Africa) and the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement, with the theme: “Growth Unleashed – Spread the Love” showcased the varieties of flowers in the horticulture industry.
The show that was opened on 8th December ended on 12th December, 2022. It converge lovers of flowers in Ghana to provide various kinds of flowers produced by the sector players and provides options for consumers.
As a means to contribute to solve climate change Ms Esther Cobbah, the Chief Executive Officer of Stratcomm Africa, in a statement, said: “Climate change and environmental degradation threaten our existence, and we all have a duty to fight to protect Mother Earth.”
“Christmas is a time to show love. The December Ghana Garden and Flower Show presents another opportunity for environmental edutainment, enterprise and beautification.”
“We invite you to come because you love the earth and care about its protection and preservation. Come benefit from knowledge, fun, networking and relaxation.”
The Show included exhibition, masterclass for adults on the topic: “Spruce Up Your Garden for Christmas”, and “Little Green Fingers -Children’s and Beginners Gardening Classes,” for the children.
Others are Kids Playground, Sip and Paint, and Praise Jam, as part of Stratcomm Africa’s annual end-of-year thanksgiving musical concert.
In August, this year, the Show marked 10 years of a focus on, and commitment to, contributing to the realisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through promoting a Greener, Cleaner, Healthier, Wealthier, and More Beautiful Ghana.
It converged more than 28,000 visitors, having grown from 1,400 in the first Show in 2013.
The Show continues to grow bigger and better with every event with international appeal and recognition.
Dr. Henry Ofosu Addo, an Environmental Parasitologist and a researcher, has predicted that Ghana might import water in some years ahead if conscious efforts are not made to stop illegal mining (galamsey).
He said human health is connected to the environment alongside its beautiful water bodies which nature has endowed Ghana with, but unfortunately these are gradually being destroyed by unpatriotic and economically self-seeking Ghanaians.
Dr. Addo, a former lecturer at the Catholic University of Ghana who made the prediction in an interview in Sunyani was sharing his thoughts on the impact of ‘galamsey’ activities on the environment, adding that rivers played important roles in the socio-cultural and religious lives of many people in Ghana and had served Ghanaians since time immemorial.
He said rivers had been the major source of water for both drinking and other domestic purposes for greater majority of Ghanaians.
He therefore, appealed to both government and all patriotic Ghanaians not to remain unconcerned by allowing the ‘galamseyers (illegal miners) to destroy the nation’s water bodies.
Dr. Addo expressed worry that during illegal mining operations, dangerous chemicals like mercury are release into the water bodies, which has serious consequences such as killing all forms of life in the water bodies.
“The fishes in the water take the mercury in and are harvested for human consumption, thereby killing ourselves indirectly,’ he emphasised.
“We all need to pay attention to the galamsey situation since it has become a systemic problem not only restricted to small parts of the country, but it is widespread nationwide destroying our water bodies and threatening our existence,’ he stated.
“The situation will bedisastrous, and posterity will not forgive us if we remain unconcerned.”
Experts in climate adaptation techniques have proposed the deployment of digital climate-smart solutions, including communication and information systems, to boost agriculture production and marketing on the continent.
They say the continuous reliance on rain-fed agriculture in Africa was not sustainable, hence the need for governments to invest in digital infrastructure to support smallholder farmers to scale up their production amid pressing climate challenges.
They made the proposal in separate interviews at the opening of two-day training on Digital Climate Advisory Services in West Africa in Accra on Thursday, December 8, 2022.
The training was organised by the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA), under the framework of the Forum for Agriculture Research Africa (FARA) is intended to build the capacities of stakeholders in the region to implement digital climate adaptation solutions for farmers.
Dr. Oluyede Ajayi, Programme Lead, Food Security and Rural Wellbeing, Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA), said there were existing solutions to address climate change impacts on the activities of farmers but connecting those interventions to farmers had always been a challenge.
He said digital tools such as climate information and advisory services could provide early warning systems to farmers to enable to plan their activities.
Dr. Ajayi said there are digital platforms that could also support farmers to get access to markets readily after harvesting to help reduce post-harvest losses.
“These are tools that can give farmers information in real time for them to be able to make informed decision in their farm operation. For example, the tools can inform farmers that in the next three days, it is going to be raining heavily and in that case, the famer would not need to apply so much fertiliser,’ he said.
Professor Wole Fantunbi, Senior Technical Cluster Leader and Innovations Systems Specialist, FARA said until the continent embrace digital climate solutions, smallholder farmers in the region would continue to be at the mercy of the weather.
He said farmers in the region are not realising the impact of available digital tools due to the lack of “strong investments” in infrastructure that enhances access and use of digital devices in the agriculture sector.
“One area of agriculture that digitalisation is very useful is remote sensing that helps you to determine exactly what you need to do at the right time. Drones are becoming very useful. “Efforts need to be geared into developing technologies and the infrastructure that make drones available…lf we have a remote-powered small weeder that can work on a farmer’s field, the cost of labour and production would be reduced,” Prof. Fantunbi said.
Ms. Eyerusalem Fasika, Country Manager, African Development Bank, said while existing technologies such as improved seeds would be critical to meeting Africa’s food demand, farmers would need additional new tools to improve yields and get their goods to the market.
She said digital climate-smart technologies provide efficiency and support scaling of interventions and could increase productivity by between 40 to 70 per cent. “..it is important to design multi-stakeholder partnerships between government, academia, and the private sector to support smallholder farmers across entire agriculture value chains,” she said.
Mr. John Osei Frimpong, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs, said farmers are experiencing a gap in yields due to their inability to access advanced technologies. “We must all put the right mechanisms in place to ensure that the investments (in technology) is quickly translated into measurable development outcomes even in their short run,” he said.
With weather patterns becoming less favourable, farmers in the region who largely depend on rain to cultivate their farms are battling with extreme weather conditions such as droughts, floods, and windstorms.
Somalia for instance is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years with 7.8 million people experiencing acute food insecurity. The United Nations has indicated that, between January and June 2022, at least 200 children have already died as a result of malnutrition.
The fishing sector, which millions of Ghanaians depend on, are at risk of collapse as a result of rampant illegal fishing and overfishing by Chinese-owned industrial trawlers, and a culture of corruption that has allowed these crimes to go unpunished, according to a new investigation from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).
The EJF’s investigations blow the whistle on systemic bribery and intimidation, resulting in egregious human rights abuses on-board fishing vessels in Ghana’s waters, alongside shocking illegal fishing. EJF calls for cooperation and urgent action by the Ghanaian Government and its international partners to bring the industry out of the shadows, to avert the ecological and social crises, and secure sustainable, legal and ethical fisheries in the Ghanaian fleet.
Ghana is home to over 200 fishing communities, with almost 3 million people in the country reliant on small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods. These livelihoods are now at risk, in large part, because of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by the industrial trawl fleet. This is believed by EJF to be at least 90 percent owned by Chinese beneficiaries, flouting Ghanaian laws on foreign ownership.
The EJF has previously documented these trawlers illegally targetting small pelagic species – including those referred to as ‘the people’s fish’ – and selling them back to the communities who would have caught them, a practice known as ‘saiko’ fishing. This illicit trade was originally conducted at sea, largely under the cover of darkness. Trawlers transferred frozen blocks of fish to specially adapted canoes which went on to sell it to local markets.
Following the government’s action to halt the illegal trade in September 2021, this practice appeared to have stopped. However, instead of disappearing, the activity has only become more open. EJF investigators tracked large volumes of small pelagic species and juvenile demersal fish, placed in cartons and sold at the country’s major industrial port for onward distribution across the country.
The report draws on interviews with a Ghanaian crew who witnessed abuses first-hand and filmed evidence, a network of informants and analysis of vessel tracking data. All of those interviewed said that there was insufficient food on-board vessels, 94 percent had restricted access to clean water, and 81 percent had witnessed or experienced physical violence. Furthermore, 92 percent had seen fish illegally dumped at sea, 81 percent stated they had witnessed their captains illegally entering waters reserved for canoe fishers, 64 percent had seen the illegal targetting and capture of non-target species, and 53 percent testified to the use of illegally adapted fishing gears.
The picture which emerges, EJF claims, is one of systemic corruption enabling illegal fishing and human rights abuses to go unreported and unpunished in the country’s waters, with almost 90 percent of crew interviewed witnessing corruption from authorities. EJF believes that the web of corruption is so deep and entangled that sustainability and the defence of human rights is impossible without substantial reforms.
The Ghanaian Government, particularly the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, can reverse this and ensure sustainable fisheries; but it must act by building on its laudable recent positive actions to reform parts of the industry, according to the report.
Steve Trent, EJF CEO and Co-Founder, said: “In recent months, the Minister of Fisheries, Mavis Hawa Koomson, has taken several positive actions and these are to be applauded. However, the extent of illegal fishing and corruption in Ghana’s fisheries across its largely foreign-owned industrial fleets remains highly damaging, presenting a direct threat to the livelihoods and food security of millions of Ghanaians, and threatening the collapse of Ghana’s fisheries. The illegal targetting and landing of small pelagic species and juvenile fish completely undermines the livelihoods and food security of millions of small-scale fishers.
“Although the need to act is urgent, the Ghanaian Government can take practical, cost-effective measures to ensure sustainable, transparent fisheries. Stronger oversight actions to tackle illegal fishing and an end to illegal landings will have immediate, lasting benefits for all Ghanaians.”
