National Farmers’ Day is celebrated to honour and recognise the immeasurable contributions of farmers to the country’s food security and socio-economic growth. The event is celebrated every first Friday of December each year.
The importance of a farmer would is not felt if the products do not get to the final consumer, therefore, it is very important to acknowledge the value chain actors during such national awards celebration.
“We the market women, as well as the Farmers, fishermen, intermediaries (direct marketers), food processors are critical actors in the agricultural value chain, therefore, we should be recognized during the National Farmers Day Celebrations”, the Queen mother of Dome Market, Abena Fosua bemoaned.
Speaking to Agric Today Media the Queen mother said that it is the market women who directly buy farm produce from the farmers in the hinterlands to the cities for consumers, without their intervention the produce could rot at the farm, therefore, they should be recognised when awarding farmers for their contribution to the economy.
She expressed her disappointment for exempting the market women, aggregators, and other stakeholders in the value chain from the national awards.
Zakari Gariba a butcher lamented that the National Farmers Day Celebration does not give true reflection because the celebration leaves out critical players that complete the sector.
Butchers play important role in the livestock sector making every size and quantity of meat and other livestock products available for the consumers.
He appealed to the government to consider and reform the criteria for selection of the Farmers’ Day Awards to include the sector players. These will encourage the youth to do the direct marketing of farm produce.
The Upper West Region has over the years provided large quantities of cereals, shea butter, yam, mango, and a host of other fruits and vegetables to feed the country.
The Minister for Agriculture has reassured that the government is leveraging on its digitalisation drive to spearhead technology-driven agriculture to empower farmers through e-agriculture.
Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI, Paramount Chief of Owirenkyi Traditional Area, has urged Government to channel financial resources to the Agricultural Sector because it had the potential of changing Ghana’s economy for the better.
Mr. Edward Laryea Koney, the Municipal Director of Agriculture of Awutu-Senya-East at the Central Region, has stated that land litigation coupled with activities of estate developers, is taking a toll on agriculture production in the area.
According to him, the phenomenon, which continued to cause a reduction in farmlands, did not only disturb food production but also affect the livelihoods of farmers.
“Estate developers are taking over all the lands. Someone will start farming and then somebody from nowhere will come and claim ownership of the land, sometimes, turning into a court case. So, most of the farmers are now ‘perching’ on the farmlands.
“Other times the owners reclaim the land at a time the crops have not mature and they don’t even allow them to harvest before the land is taken away from them”, he lamented.
Mr. Koney was speaking on the sidelines of the Municipality’s Farmers Day celebration and indicated that the Area is now shifting towards non-traditional farming, which required a small area of land to undertake.
He said his office is mobilising the youth and equipping them with the necessary training and logistics for the new farming module.
“What we are doing now is that we are forming groups so that they will go into non-traditional farming like rabbit rearing, grasscutter, and poultry, which actually occupy just a small land size area.
“There are people who are into mushroom production as of now and so, we are mobilising the young ones to train them to go into this non-traditional farming because of the land issues,” he explained.
Mr. Koney said his outfit is negotiating with the Assembly for support to enable them realise that vision.
Touching on other issues, Mr. Koney disclosed that the recent case of bird flu that rocked some parts of the country this year ravaged six farms in the municipality where a total of 3,970 birds were affected between July and October.
Of the number, 1,327 of the birds died before the laboratory confirmation results from the Accra Veterinary Laboratory were received.
The rest, he revealed, were destroyed and a destruction certificate issued while intensive surveillance was also instituted to prevent a further outbreak, he added.
The Agriculture Director disclosed that there had not been any case of bird flu for the past month and prayed for its complete eradication.
COCOBOD is projecting an ambitious target of raking in US$50billion in annual revenues from processing cocoa into other value-added products by the year 2030.
Data from COCOBOD indicate that some progress has been made in value addition to cocoa, with the volume of cocoa value addition moving from 25 percent in 2018 to a current 40 percent and constituting an about-327,000 tonnage of processing.
Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, told the B&FT at the recently held Ghana Cocoa Awards in Accra that the organisation’s priority is to ensure increased cocoa production is matched by an increase in domestic processing – with an objective to reach 50 percent local processing by 2024.
Domestic cocoa processing installed capacity has significantly progressed from 64,500 metric tonnes to a national installed capacity of 544,000 tonnes, indicating underutilisation in some factories.
Indeed, the call for value addition has enabled COCOBOD to support local cocoa processors – Cargill and Barry Callebaut, Olam among others – to expand their processing capacities. Other processors including Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), West African Mills Company Ltd. (WAMCO), Niche Cocoa, Touton, Plot Enterprise, Chocomac and Nutcao have all expanded their capacities to meet expected demands.
Africa produces nearly 75 percent of cocoa, with Ghana and Ivory Coast controlling more than 60 percent of the commodity. Ironically, all five of the continent’s biggest economies – Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Algeria and Morocco – heavily import chocolate from western countries that source their raw cocoa from Africa.
But Mr. Boahen Aidoo reiterated that COCOBOD is focused on moving the narrative from exports of raw beans to exporting value-added cocoa products which will make Ghana a beneficiary of the over-US$100billion global chocolate value chain.
The global chocolate value chain, which is currently estimated at US$130billion, only brings some US$3billion in foreign exchange to Ghana as a result of it exporting the raw beans, according to COCOBOD. “COCOBOD remains determined to facilitate adequate production and reliable supply of cocoa beans, as well as supporting the private sector to push Ghana into becoming the chocolate and confectionery hub of Africa within the next decade,” Mr. Boahen Aidoo indicated.
He also underscored the need to create job opportunities through enhancing the value chain into processing in order to create employment for the teeming African youth.
“We urge processing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution and allied companies to consider the numerous investment opportunities in the cocoa sector, and channel their resources to such areas. We ask brand owners to take advantage of this to promote their brands; COCOBOD is ready to give all necessary support,” he added.
Gov’t ready to support COCOBOD achieve its aim Chief of Staff of the Republic of Ghana, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, speaking at the same ceremony noted that despite accomplishing a number of its objectives in the cocoa industry, the government is willing to extend its support to COCOBOD to help attain progress in the cocoa processing sub-sector.
“Having come this far in the areas of farmer welfare protection and cocoa production, among others, this government wants to turn its attention to local cocoa processing, value addition and consumption. The government has already demonstrated that it can achieve what it sets out to accomplish within the cocoa industry.
“It is therefore throwing a challenge to management of COCOBOD to take the industry to its next level by expanding the cocoa processing sub-sector and increasing consumption; both locally and within the sub-region. This has the potential to significantly increase revenue generated from the cocoa industry for the country, and indeed improve a lot of stakeholders including our cherished cocoa farmers. You can count on the support of the government in this regard,” she added.
Eradicating child labour in the cocoa industry Speaking on the theme ‘Celebrating Ghana’s Historic Cocoa Production Milestone- A golden opportunity for the local value addition Agenda’, she indicated that her outfit is committed to eradicating child labour in the cocoa industry – adding that implementation of the Cocoa Management System (CMS) by the Ghana COCOBOD has further driven her interest to tackle the menace, and calling on all stakeholders to support the initiative.
“As a former Deputy Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment who spent a lot of time working on the issue of child labour, I am still committed to seeing its eradication from every facet of this country. From my engagements with stakeholders in the cocoa industry, I am happy to note that the path we created has been enhanced through various anti-child labour programmes and initiatives.
“I was further encouraged when I learnt about the Cocoa Management System (CMS), which is being spearheaded by COCOBOD. It promises to greatly enhance our capacity to track various activities within the cocoa sector, including activities that may be construed as child labour – so that suitable interventions can be immediately deployed to correct any such incidents. I ask you as stakeholders to rally behind the CMS project and make it a success,” she noted
Gov’t support to cocoa industry’s achievements She said despite the devastating effects of COVID-19, Ghana under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo has attained an all-time high annual cocoa production volume of about one million and seventy thousand tonnes (1,070,000 tonnes). This feat was attained through effective implementation of the productivity enhancement programmes aimed at increasing yield from an average of 450 kilogrammes per hectare to 1,000 kilogrammes per hectare, in the medium-term.
She stated that: “The industry has in the past half-decade been confronted with low terminal prices for cocoa on the international market. Unfortunately, the situation has in recent times been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
“Whereas cocoa-producing countries around the world responded by reducing the amount they pay to their farmers, President Akufo-Addo – in spite of mounting international pressure -reinforced his commitment to Ghana’s Cocoa farmers by maintaining the farm gate price in the early period of his first government; and tasked the cocoa regulator to devise a sustainable solution to the challenge.
“Through a historic joint effort by the president and his Ivorian counterpart, we have succeeded in achieving a Living Income Differential of US$400 per tonne of cocoa for our cherished farmers expressed through a major leap in the producer price of cocoa; farmers in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are better-off compared to farmers in the other cocoa-producing countries.”
Orange juice taken on an empty stomach will improve the functioning of our organism thanks to all its properties
Starting the day by ingesting foods that provide us with nutrients and vitamins is one of the healthiest things we can do to take care of our well-being. For this reason, orange juice on an empty stomach is a very positive option for the organism.
And the orange is one of the fruits belonging to the citrus family that will bring more vitamin C to our body. And one of the most common and richest ways to ingest all its benefits is in the form of juice.
We can drink it at any time of the day, but certainly, at breakfast time our body will absorb more effectively all its properties.
What are the benefits of orange juice on an empty stomach? For this reason, orange juice has become one of the most common food supplements to take on an empty stomach. And is that accompanied by a good toast and other fruits, can help the proper functioning of the organism during the day.
In this case, experts recommend drinking freshly squeezed orange juice on an empty stomach. To get all the benefits, nutrients and vitamins positively affect our health.
Orange juice diet The vitamin C contained in oranges will have a very healthy effect on our immune system. This will help us to prevent a large number of diseases and avoid the proliferation of bacteria and viruses inside us.
In addition, orange juice and the vitamin C it contains are also perfect for preventing colds and flu. But, above all, it is also a good ally to prevent anemia because it helps the effective absorption of iron from food.
Other benefits of orange juice on an empty stomach In addition to preventing illnesses, colds, colds, and the onset of flu and anemia, orange juice is also positive for eliminating toxins from our organism.
On the other hand, the intake of orange also favors the reduction of uric acid. One of the most common diseases is gout or arthritis. To prevent them, it is best to drink orange juice every day on an empty stomach and to level the uric acid levels in our organism.
Antioxidant orange juice Orange contains flavonoids and essential oils that increase the health of our body. This increases the health of our skin as it helps prevent premature aging of skin. In addition, it will also prevent the appearance of acne, blemishes, and wrinkles.
According to experts, for every 100 grams of product, we will obtain 64% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C. So it is very healthy to include it daily in our diet.
The 4th Ghana Agribusiness Leadership and Excellence Awards with the theme: “Sustainable Agribusiness: A Catalyst for Industrial Development, Food Security and Job Creation” has awarded 43 illustrious sector players for their immense contribution to the sector at Marriot Hotel, Accra.
For the past three years, Nigeria has been leading globally in the production of yam, palm oil, cassava, maize, and rice, the Federal Government has said.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammed Mahmoud, disclosed this at the maiden edition of the National Agribusiness Stakeholders’ and Investment Summit in Abuja on Tuesday.
He told delegates at the summit that Nigeria’s agricultural potential was huge, with over 84 million hectares of arable land of which 40 percent was cultivated, adding that the country’s population of over 200 million had made it Africa’s largest market.
“It is remarkable that in the past three years Nigeria has taken a leading role globally in cassava, yam, maize, palm oil, and rice production,” Mahmoud said,
He added, “We are currently the largest producer of rice in Africa with a production level of over nine million metric tonnes from 2019. The Federal Government is investing in the development of additional 10 large-scale integrated rice mills across the country.
“Their combined minimum capacity is 320MT per day, which when completed will enhance Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in rice production.”
The minister pointed out that the agricultural sector currently accounts for 24.14 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product and 75 percent of the total non-oil exports.
On the impact of the sector in poverty alleviation, the minister said, “It is notable that through various empowerment support initiatives in
production, processing, and marketing of agricultural commodities, we have lifted a total of 4,205,576 Nigerians out of poverty in the last two years.”
He said the government would continue to work for a sustainable and viable economic climate that would attract local and foreign investments.
“The Federal Government has deliberately designed agricultural investment incentives to support high-level private sector participation,” Mahmoud stated.
He noted that while some of these incentives were in form of tax holidays, exemptions and reliefs, there were many that leveraged specific government policies, performances of companies, as well as relevant international investment treaties.
