Battle for FIsh

Every year,during the lent season, fish is the hottest commodity in many European countries. This has created what has popularly become the Battle for Fish which is led by major shipping companies which ply the West African route. Since many African countries do not have sea patrols to control trawling in their territories, many developed countries are using especially the north-west African coasts as their main territories.

According to the United Nations, up to 90 percent of fishing done in the West Africa is not run by local boats. The EU for several years has contributed to this huge devastating complicity. Every year EU countries fish from the waters of Senegal or Mauritania tons of tuna, mackerel or sardines. Each of the super trawler pulls 300 tons (273 kilogram) of fish on board - daily.

A documentary by Greenpeace reveals the devastating effect of these super-trawlers which ply the west african waters regularly. (documentary is in German)

Poultry farmers battling to survive

In small remote communities of Ghana, poultry farming is everything. It is the mainstay of rural communities, providing the major and -- in some cases -- the only source of income for many inhabitants.

But failure of successive governments to come out with clear policies that will create much protection for the local poultry industry has triggered the import surge of frozen chicken from the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU).

Worse still, imported chicken is being sold at below the cost of local chicken, and farmers in Ghana simply cannot compete -- resulting in the collapse of dozens of farms and the loss of hundreds of jobs.

Last year alone, the EU, USA and Brazil together exported over 200,000 tonnes of frozen chicken to Ghana, valued at US$200 million >>> more