A four-day training programme aimed at promoting productivity in the piggery industry to a very high earning and sustainable level has ended in Ho. Participants were introduced to new technologies focused on reducing waste and creating compost for farming. The training programme was also geared towards generating interest in pig farming as an enterprise with … Read more
Cocoa is piling up at ports and warehouses in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer, after a plunge in futures prices prompted some exporters to suspend purchases. Trucks carrying cocoa are queuing to deliver beans at inland buying stations and the largest ports in Abidjan and San Pedro, according to four shippers familiar with the … Read more
Cocoa is piling up at ports and warehouses in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer, after a plunge in futures prices prompted some exporters to suspend purchases. Trucks carrying cocoa are queuing to deliver beans at inland buying stations and the largest ports in Abidjan and San Pedro, according to four shippers familiar with the … Read more
Africa’s 33 million smallholder farmers feed an estimated one-third of humanity, and are key to mitigating global challenges such as food security and climate change. Recently, smallholder farming has also become a solution to high youth unemployment, with a new generations of farmers engaging in agricultural movements across Africa, which is the continent with the … Read more
The Feed the Future Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has collaborated with the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to launch an “anti-bushfire” campaign in the Nanumba North, Tolon and Gushegu districts of the Northern Region. … Read more
Statistics do not lie. Not many teenage pregnancies result in the mother going on to acquire several degrees, which makes Chocolate Lady an exception. At 14, she was already in the family way. W hen the baby arrived, aged 15, it created a problem or two for the family. But the moment the teenage mother … Read more
Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has assured international chocolate companies that Ghana is set to continue with the supply of premium quality cocoa to the world market. With the implementation of the adopted interventions including free fertilizer distribution, mass cocoa spraying, free distribution of hybrid seedlings, cocoa farms rehabilitation … Read more
Esoko, an agricultural technology platform has launched a new product in Ghana to boost agriculture and address the challenge in acquiring inputs and access to credit for local farmers. The product, ‘Fasiba’, is Esoko’s M-Commerce solution for farmers, aimed at helping farmers to lessen the suffering they go through in accessing farm inputs and credit … Read more
Wife of the presidential hopeful of the Progressive People’s Party, Mrs. Yvonne Nduom, has advocated the need for mechanised agricultural system where modern farming implements would be used instead of primitive and traditional ways of farming. Speaking in an interview with Joy FM in Accra yesterday on a wide range of issues including her husband’s … Read more
The Ghana Agricultural and Rural Development Journalists Association (GARDJA) is accusing government of not showing enough commitment to developing the country’s agricultural sector. The Association cites high-interest rates on credit for farmers and decline in subsidies for the claim. “Whilst 44 percent interest rate is charged on credit for agriculture, there is no partial guarantee … Read more
Mr Alhassan Abu, 39, was adjuged the best farmer in the Wa Municipal at this year’s Farmers Day celebration held at Busa. Mr Abu, who was among 17 other award winners, had been in the farming business for the past 21 years obtained his knowledge and skills from his late father. For his prize, he … Read more
The Federal Government of Nigeria has been called upon to adopt The Netherland’s agricultural model to increase its food security. Marc van der Sterren , Managing Director/CEO Farming Africa, made the call in Lagos at a workshop on ‘Sustainable Agriculture under Economic Recession.’ Van der Sterrn said “I would appeal to the Minister of Agriculture … Read more
Agriculture, one of the largest and most significant industries in the world, is important not only for a country’s balance of trade, but the security and health of its population. Almost every country wants to optimise its agricultural sector to enhance productivity and transform its economy but it appears Ghana’s efforts have not gone far … Read more
Ghana has more arable land than most Western European countries yet we import agricultural products from these countries. That’s according to the General Agriculture Workers Union. Despite the fact that agriculture contributes about 34 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of most African countries’ economies, and shoulders the greatest part of the labour force, … Read more
Robert Crentsil, 42, from Ejumako Enyan Essiem in the Central Region, has been adjudged the 2016 National Best Farmer. He has several plantations comprising cocoa (12 acres), rubber (80 acres), plantain (60 acres), Cowpea (60 acres), Cassava (30 acres), Oil Palm (7 acres), Coconut (6 acres), Citrus (15 acres). The husband and father-of-three will be … Read more
The Government of Ghana is committed to ensuring a viable agriculture sector in the country in order to alleviate poverty, Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has said. According to him, the government has noticed that the sector is a high-risk area, therefore, has instituted measures to deal with those risks in order to ensure productive … Read more
President John Mahama has refuted claims by the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that agriculture has been declining under his administration. “The impression created in the media is false. Let me state for a fact that the agriculture sector is not in decline. A sector that is growing at 2.5 percent cannot be said … Read more
World Food Day 2016 has the global message: “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.” This echoes weather-related disasters hitting vulnerable farmers, fishers and pastoralists in Africa. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices that produce more with less in … Read more
Many African smallholder farmers and farm communities are oblivious to the fact that they are experiencing low crop and animal yields partly due to climate change. In countries like Ghana, many are not aware of what to do to remedy the situation of erratic rainfall, drought and other unfavorable weather conditions. Agriculture across the continent … Read more
NDC Manifestos did not address impact of climate change on agriculture As the campaign season get heated up, election day draws closer and the debate on who has the best manifesto to rescue the country from its current state, I take a critical look at one major issue confronting Ghana’s agricultural sector; the perpetual decline … Read more