27 Saturday Feb 2016
President John Dramani Mahama delivered the State of the Nation Address, 2016 on Thursday February 25, 2016.
The State of the Nation is an annual address to Parliament given by the President of the republic of Ghana covering economic, social, and financial state of the country according to Article 67 of the country’s constitution.
A full copy of the pdf will soon be made available. Subscribe to blog updates to be the first to receive a copy in your email inbox.
14 Sunday Feb 2016
Posted in Projects in Ghana, Youth in Agriculture
Tags
233Agric, agricinghana, biodiversity, Conservation Agriculture, Ghana, Organic, organic farming, Organic Fertiliser, soil fertility
Organic production can offer different benefits. These can include: a better price for better quality and lower input costs; crop diversification; better natural resource management; conservation of biodiversity; improved soil fertility, and fewer health risks for farmers and consumers. Exporting organic products can be attractive for farmers and their producer organisations; the specific market segments (niche markets) offer the opportunity to achieve better prices and acquire a more privileged market position.
It is tempting (and often misleading) to only look at the benefits of entering the organic niche markets. In order to avoid disappointments, it is necessary to prepare well and to have an understanding and knowledge of the key issues involved in these export markets.
Agricinghana, in a series of articles in this regard, will provide a wide range of insightful discourse in Organic farming in Ghana. Subscribe to updates so you do not miss out!
Enquiries: projects@syecomp.com
13 Saturday Feb 2016
Posted in NEWS
A stakeholders’ consultative meeting has been held for compost and organic fertiliser producers in Accra, as part of the government’s moves to incorporate organic fertiliser in the fertiliser subsidy programme for farmers.
The one-day meeting, held on Monday by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and sponsored by the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, was aimed at identifying the best way to organise the industry of compost producers to effectively and efficiently promote organic and compost materials in agriculture production.
The Chairman for the meeting, Mr Emmanuel Asante-Krobea, who is also the Director of Crop Service, MoFA, said the ministry was prepared to engage the industry on a daily basis, to make sure that its aim of attaining sustainable agriculture production through the use of organic fertiliser was achieved.
“I am saying this because as a ministry or government, there is little we can do, if the private enterprises who are entrepreneurs, who have already taken the lead in setting up systems and manufacturing plants to produce organic fertiliser, do not come to the forefront,” he stated.
“In Ghana because of our vegetation and climatic condition, we have downplayed the use of organic materials in our agricultural system and have assumed that the condition would continue,” he said.
Mr Asante-Krobea said farmers rather destroyed the nutrients in the soil through burning, and then reintroduced inorganic fertiliser to supplement the nutrients.
However, he said it was the government’s wish to better the efforts of the farmers and lessen the burden on them through the rising cost of inorganic or chemical fertiliser and also to ensure food security in the country, that the fertiliser subsidy programme was introduced in 2008.
“Inorganic fertiliser is not the only means to replenish the fertility of the soil. The best means for replenishing the fertility of the soil is putting back organic material, which is being lost from the soil,he said and added that the continuous use of inorganic fertiliser was also inimical to the fertility of the soil.
The Israeli Ambassador to Ghana and Guest of Honour at the meeting, Mr Ami Mehl, described Ghana as a haven for agriculture that could feed the whole world because it had the technical know-how and the actors.
He indicated that Israel was ready to share their knowledge on the use of organic fertiliser with Ghana, stating that although the know-how was good, it was of no use if it was not shared.
In line with that, a compost expert from Israel, Mr Raanan Adin, is in the country to hold a four-day training for staff of the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP) and other stakeholders interested in the training this week.
Dr Richard Amponsah, the Managing Director of ACARP, asked compost and organic fertiliser producers to come together to present a formidable front with a strong voice to properly engage with the government and also build on their capacity, as well as quality, to be able to meet farmers’ demand.
He said it was cheaper to use organic fertiliser because a 50kg bag of inorganic fertiliser cost about GHC120 and when subsidised could come to GHC100, whereas the same weight of organic fertiliser or compost cost GHC25.
11 Thursday Feb 2016
Posted in NEWS
The Agricultural Engineering Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) has developed a special cassava harvester designed to enhance the mechanisation of root and tuber crops cultivation, particularly cassava and yam.
The device ‘Tek Mechanical Cassava Harvester’ (TEK-MCH) has been engineered to address the difficulty in commercially harvesting root and tuber crops. Manual harvesting reflects drudgery and time consumption, especially in the dry seasons, and has been the bane of commercial production for these crops.
The development and adoption of the 300kg mass and one metre wide machine with slatted conical mould-board is one solution proposed to unlock the huge cassava potential as food and for industrial use: the TEK-MCH can harvest a hectare within a maximum of two hours.
Speaking at a field demonstration exercise held at the Wenchi Agricultural Station, the inventor, Prof. Emmanuel Y.H. Bobobee, said it was developed as far back as 1994 but did not see the light of the day until 2011 when the Department received funding from the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Project (WAAPP) to popularise it.
He said the device has since been evaluated in Ghana and South Africa for large-scale cassava production. Should relevant authorities and stakeholders embrace TEK-MCH, it will be a game-changer for cassava production in Africa where it largely depends on aging labour, he added.
“The low level of engineering technology inputs into agriculture is one main constraint hindering the modernisation of agriculture and food production in Africa and some other parts of the world. Until recently, there were no commercial mechanical cassava harvesters for the crop’s production.
“Support is needed to quick-start commercial-scale manufacturing of the device; carry out market research, advertise and promote it among cassava growers and starch producers in Africa and beyond,” Prof. Bobobee said.
According to him, lack of funding and motivation such as official endorsements have relegated many research findings and innovations to gathering dust, saying: “Government must identify some of these success stories and cushion them with the needed supports to aid agricultural transformation”.
In an interview with B&FT, Techiman-based Cassava Processor Daniel Kofi Sakyi, who has benefited from the device, described the impact of TEK-MCH on his business as “immeasurable”. He said his suppliers [farmers] are easily able to supply him with cassava throughout the year to produce about 10.8 metric tonnes a day.
27 Wednesday Jan 2016
Tags
Question: What is Zika?
Answer: Zika is a virus spread to humans by Aedes mosquitoes, the same mosquitoes that spread dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever
27 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted in NEWS, Projects in Ghana
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is to begin large-scale production of nutritious fresh milk to generate more revenue for its activities.
Professor William Otoo Ellis, the Vice Chancellor, said it has target to produce about 1,500 litres of fresh yoghurt daily for the local market by the middle of the year.
It had already secured partnership deal with the Peak Investment Capital Limited (PIC) for this, he added.
Speaking at the inauguration of a seven-member Board of Directors of the University’s Diary Company Limited in Kumasi, Prof Ellis said it had taken steps to strengthen its Dairy and Beef Cattle Research Centre – to develop new technologies in the dairy production line and come out with products that met international standards in terms of taste, packaging, quality and durability.
Dairy products of the centre is currently limited to students on the university campus and people within its environs.
The Vice Chancellor said given the needed push, there could be no doubt that it could make significant penetration into the international market.
Fresh yoghurt produced by the centre has been acknowledged for its quality and now with its collaboration with PIC it could become a major player on both the local and international markets.
Mr. Kobbina Awuah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIC, said the Company was constructing two “flagship stores” on the university campus to serve as major sales point to distribute dairy products in the Ashanti Region.
Work on these, he said, would be completed in March, this year.
Mr. Awuah said the decision to partner the KNUST to boost milk production was influenced by the fact that it already had the technical expertise and the necessary structures.
The inauguration of the Board comes on the heels of a joint-venture agreement signed between the two. The Board is expected to announce its Chairman soon.
Source Credit: Ghana News Agency
23 Saturday Jan 2016
Posted in Funding Opportunity, NEWS
Tags
Cassava Integrated Enterprise Development Project, cassava value chain financing, EDAIF, EDAIF Equity Fund Ghana, Equity Fund in Ghana, Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund, Mango Value Chain Financing in Ghana, Venture Funds in Ghana
The Board of the Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund (EDAIF) has approved GH¢50 million to set up the EDAIF Equity Fund. The Fund would target investments into Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) engaged in agro-processing, export trade and industrial development in line with their mandate.
A statement signed by Dr Barfour Osei, Chief Executive Officer of EDAIF added that in the period from August to December 2015, the EDAIF Board also approved financing facilities amounting to GH¢52.3 million to beneficiaries in the public and private sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
The EDAIF Equity Fund would over the next five years, support businesses that require long-term investments and provide long-term catalytic capital with technical support where appropriate.
It would also provide investments to start-ups, early stage companies and enterprises where short-term debt financing is inappropriate.
According to the statement, Equity financing in agro-processing would be extended to enterprises in crop such as and vegetable; fruits and juices; meat and dairy; and, edible oils.
It explained that other beneficiaries would be industrial development, enterprises engaged in packaging materials; apparels; woodworks and handicrafts; paper and pulp; in addition to aluminium and metals which will qualify for financing.
The statement said EDAIF is operating the Equity Fund with technical support from Venture Capital Trust Fund and through a Fund Manager, Oasis Capital Ghana Limited which will receive proposals from prospective applicants.
It said the approval of over GH¢52.3 million were made up of GH¢20.3 million as Interest Free Repayable funds and GH¢13.2 million as credit extended towards the purchase of equipment, tools and accessories for agro-processing; and GH¢5.7 in grants towards rice, cashew and poultry production. The remaining GH¢13.1 million, the statement said covered support for the EDAIF-sponsored Cassava and Mango projects that received GH¢8.6 million and GH¢4.5 million respectively. It added that the support for cassava was for the implementation of Phase 1 of the Cassava Integrated Enterprise Development Project covering the Northern, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti Regions.
According to the statement, financial support was approved to establish three processing factories and over 1000 beneficiaries received financial support to cultivate nearly 4,000 acres of cassava to feed the factories.
“Approvals for the Mango project covered maintenance of existing farms of over 5,000 acres and the cultivation of additional 2,800 acres across the country.”
22 Friday Jan 2016
Posted in Conference, Young Entrepreneurs, Youth in Agriculture
Youth employment and hunger are two key issues that have been impacted by the economic crisis. This is particularly true for youth living in developing countries, representing 85% of the world youth. In an attempt to address these issues, the Global Youth Innovation Network, GYIN, has initiated its second Global Youth Summit called the 2016 Youth Agribusiness, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship Summit on Innovation [YALESI 2016].
The summit will prioritise young people’s needs, considering their developmental needs, and including underserved populations, such as girls, to an effective and inclusive employment strategy.
The summit, representing over 100 countries, will give its participants the tools to learn and share how young women and men, especially in rural areas, are increasingly acquiring new capacities and developing innovative solutions to transform themselves as Hunger Fighters, Job Creators, Innovators, and Change Agents. Youth participants and partner organizations will present proven innovative agribusiness and entrepreneurship practices by sharing their knowledge, expertise, challenges and success stories.
To Apply, visit: http://yalesi.org/register/
Requirement: Youth applicants are required to submit a business plan / project idea as part of the application process
Deadline: January 31, 2016
YALESI 2016 will be held in Dakar, Senegal from March 28-April 1, 2016
Click here for more information and to register.
GYIN is a fully youth-inspired and led network for youth entrepreneurs and rural micro-enterprises who are committed to act as hunger fighters, change agents, and innovators, driven by the passion to see generational transformations and changes from the grassroots to the global level. The network creates an environment to support youth in development and empowerment programs through the following objectives: Leadership / Agribusiness / Entrepreneurship / Education / Community Engagement.
Enquiries: Communications@gyin.org
15 Friday Jan 2016
Posted in Farm inputs, NEWS, Policies
My attention was drawn to a news item aired on the radio on the 2nd of December, 2015 about an issue which sounded very alarming to the Ghanaian Agricultural Sector and the ecosystem as a whole.
In an article first reported by the Ghana News Agency; rice farmers in and around Ho, the Volta Regional Capital were lamenting over “poor rice seed” supplied to them under the Rice Sector Support Project of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. According to the farmers, the seed was very poor and contaminated. The main issues raised were that:
1. The seed was made up of different varieties of rice; some of low economic value
2. The grains even had some wheat included
3. The seed was mixed with weeds of types never before seen in that area
4. Loss of important income due to mix of seed and weeds
Implications for farmers and the environment
A project that was supposed to help cultivate high yielding commercially important rice turned to be a curse in disguise as farmers were left with nothing. The loss of revenue and income after tilling, fertilizing and weeding among other things cannot be quantified if all that was gained from it was rice and weeds that cannot yield any revenue. Environmentally, the introduction of foreign weeds and wheat of all things in the seed supplied is very worrying. When a plant or animal is introduced into a new, non-native environment, it is known as an exotic species. Exotic species often tend to have the capacity to quickly propagate and overrun their new locations due to the likelihood that their natural predators may not be present to keep their populations in check. In the absence of local predators, or effective knowledge by the farmers and officers on how best to tackle them, they often colonise large swathes of land and even waterways in some cases. In this era of climate change and mutations; it is a very risky business introducing new species into areas without any proper measures in place for containment. Farmers lost a lot of revenue because sections of their arable land had been taken over completely by these plants
Discussion
Who was given the contract to supply the inferior seed? Where was it obtained from; and what was the country of origin? What has been done to remedy the situation? Our Universities, especially the University of Ghana readily come to mind. Could the seed not have been sourced from the various Agricultural Research Stations available in Ghana which have carried out painstaking research into the cereals and other plants? These institutions have developed high quality, fragrant rice varieties that are resistant to a lot of stressors and are readily available. What is the relevance of painstaking research by dedicated scientists if the Government is not ready to make use of what is locally available? In the unfortunate event that the weeds become established in our lands; what measures are in place to contain their spread? These are the few questions we need answers to, even as we hope this unfortunate incident is no more repeated.
Author:
Jemimah Etornam Kassah is a keen environmentalist on issues of biodiversity and conservation. Currently a PhD student in Fisheries and Aquatic Science at the University of Cape-Coast, she will be found writing poetry, reading history books or cooking in her spare time. She is married with a daughter.
Send me an email: jemavornyo@live.com
13 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted in ICT Apps in Agric, Jobs
Get in touch for a discussion for a short term contract!
Application Deadline: March 24, 2016
Email us your resume and work portfolio for review!
Email us:
Projects@syecomp.com
