President Outlines Vision For Ghana’s Agriculture

President John Dramani Mahama has delivered his maiden State of the Nation’s address to the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.

The address is in line with Article 67 of the Constitution, which mandates the President, at the beginning of each session of Parliament, deliver a message on State of the Nation. Below is what the President said on the Country’s Agricultural Development.

“Mr. Speaker, all of our accelerated development efforts have been geared towards giving special advantage to accelerated agricultural and aquaculture development through Modernization.

The process of modernization, involving the use of improved seed varieties, greater access to tractor services and training of peasant and small holder farmers on productivity enhancements, has resulted in dramatic increases in maize, rice and cassava production in the last four years. >>> more

What can be expected from the new food and agricultural chief?

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in Ghana will be headed by a new chief or Minister, Clement Kofi Humado, and the question on the mind of interested parties is what changes he will introduce or whether it will be business as usual.

Clement Kofi Humado is the Member of Parliament for the Anlo constituency in Ghana and was also the Minister for Youth and Sports in Ghana prior to his new appointment.

During the vetting sessions in Parliament Mr. Humado gave some indications, as reported in the media, of his focus or priorities for the food and agricultural sector.

Firstly he advocated the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) in commercial farming to boost the country’s food security. >>> more

Ghana Gold Rush: Jungle Gold and Illegalities.

It is very sad watching this discovery on the Discovery channel.The Ghanaian citizens are living in abject poverty.Politicians sit in Accra talking gibberish while illegal miners take over gold lands.Government leases gold lands to foreigners to mine gold while citizens do not have a place to live,water to drink,jobs to do,etc.People are flying in from America to mine gold.Sorry state of our collective mindset and a real shame!>>>more

UN meet in Rome to debate easing global food prices

ROME (AFP) - The international community is gathering in Italy for World Food Day on Tuesday with a round of UN-hosted talks on how to keep global food prices in check and help prevent future commodity market crises.

"Food prices are too volatile and are dangerously high," Olivier De Schutter, the UN's rapporteur on the right to food, said ahead of the meeting.

De Schutter called for "immediate" action to help stabilise prices.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations is holding a week-long meeting of the Committee on World Food Security, which is made up of UN officials, farming experts and civil society representatives.

The latest UN data from earlier this month shows some 870 million people -- around one in eight people in the world -- are starving or under-nourished. >>>more

Farmers want swift implementation of policies to reduce cost

Farmers in Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana are demanding swift implementation of policies to reduce the cost of doing business in their regions. 

Their plea comes on a day when Ghana joins the globe to observe World Food Day. Some farmers say they are still dependent on weather to grow their crops and are suffering serious post-harvest losses. 

This year’s Food Day celebration focuses on how agricultural cooperatives and producer organizations can help provide food security, generate employment, and reduce poverty.

In the Builsa District, one of the rice baskets of the Upper East region, farmers are preparing to harvest their produce. >>>more

Curbing food security : Agricultural Industrialization

The most authentic means of aid to Ghana or Africa must be in such a form devoid of the usual politics or a minimal political influence.Honestly,money given is always lopsided to those in higher positions. What must be done? Creating long-lasting solutions should be the bottle-neck even if its hard and difficult.Teaching local farmers the need for tractors and assisting them in the process to  secure some basic equipments is most relevant.

In the 21st century,most farmers in Ghana and Africa still use cutlasses and hoes for work.How many acres and how many days will they have to toil to produce two acres of corn/maize?

In the videos below,Mr. Balle and his friends from Denmark did the most important thing by building a farm in Ghana with the assistance from local workers.You can imagine what a few tractors and harvesters can do in few days. This is the path Ghana and Africa must take,to gradually produce enough to ensure food security.

The current record of 52% work force in agriculture producing about 25% of what the country really needs is wrong.

Ghana begins Genetically Modified testing

Confined Field Trial (CFT) of three genetically modified crops may start next year, according to Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Ibrahim Kwasi Atokple.

Scientists at various Institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research are expecting permits from the National Biosafety Committee to enable them proceed with the evaluations.
Seeds for genetically modified rice, cowpea and sweet potatoes are to be tested for essential traits that will enhance crop production in the country.

With on-going global debates over the health implications of genetically modified organisms, parliament recently passed The Biosafety Act of 2011 (Act 831) to legalise importation and research into GMOs. Ghana now joins countries like South Africa, Burkina Faso, Egypt and Kenya which are already producing and importing GMOs on the continent .>>> continue

Ghana : Beware of the Economic Partnership Agreements.

Mr Tetteh Hormeku, Head of Programmes, Third World Network - Ghana, has urged African governments to be wary of the European Union's agenda to perpetuate and deepen liberalization through the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). >>>  more

Is the EPA really a beneficial agreement?

The truth is that the EPAs are not as much about the interests of sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean or the Pacific countries as it is about Europe becoming more economically competitive. The EPAs are about finding market for European products, having access to cheaper raw materials from Africa and being able to compete with China, India and recently Brazil in the African market. >>> more

Is EPA safe?

On December 13, 2007, the European Commission initialized a stepping stone, Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) with Ghana. The agreement according to them will enable Ghana to benefit significantly from improved market access to the European Union.  >>>more

Ensuring Food Security For Ghanaians

Food security is one of the most relevant things that every nation should be conscious of and prioritize it to a mechanism to tackle the unforeseen situation as far as food security is concerned. Many countries have failed to tackle this particular issue with great concerned and as a result of that keep battling with the consequences.


Specifically, Africa has been one of the continent battling with this situation and has an increasing population increasing every time and then. Food security itself exists when all people, at all times have access to safe and nutritional food at affordable prices to meet their dietary and food preference for an active and wealthy life.>>>more>>>

Interview: Financing cocoa in Ghana

Stanbic Bank Ghana this week confirmed that a record number of commitments have been secured for Ghana Cocoa Board’s 17th annual pre-export finance facility. Standard Bank was one of the joint mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) for the US$1.2 billion transaction along with Crédit Agricole, ICBC, Ghana International Bank and SMBC.

Ghana's cocoa industry consists of thousands of small-scale farmers.

The transaction was oversubscribed at US$1.834 billion, and the borrower increased the facility size to US$1.5 billion. A total of 28 banks, including the MLAs, confirmed participation, with ticket sizes following scale-backs ranging from US$5 million to US$100 million.

The structure of this deal remains unchanged, with the facility used to purchase cocoa beans for the 2010/11 season, and secured by the assignment of export contracts from overseas buyers.>>>more>>>

Ghana's Floriculture Industry

Investors have the opportunity to invest in the production of flowers in Ghana. The country’s floriculture industry is at an infant stage of development relative to Africa’s major flower producers.

Investment Opportunities


Ghana’s climate, topography, and other natural characteristics make it a conducive location for the cultivation of many exotic breeds of flowers.
Specifically, species such as heliconia, caribea, celocia, curcuma, gladioli and hibiscus have all performed well in Ghana under natural conditions, and there is potential for the expansion of areas under cultivation for these and other cultivars which have yet to be introduced.
Most of Ghana’s current producers possess basic resources – including large tracts of prime uncultivated land, basic technical know-how and an experienced labour force – which can be expanded with capital infusion and technology transfer. The expected growth in the floricultural sector will create and sustain demand for cold storage and freight handling facilities, greenhouse construction, irrigation equipment and construction of small dams.>>>continue>>>

Addressing Ghana’s agriculture challenges

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Ghana’s increasing population, changing weather patterns and global food price hikes are squeezing the budget of the less well-off. Although agricultural production has grown at over 5% annually since 2001, this has largely been achieved by bringing new land into cultivation. Yield gaps between Ghana’s productivity levels, compared to what is achievable, are far too high.

Ghana's cocoa farmers have enjoyed higher incomes for the current cropping season and interventions are underway to improve soil fertility.

Adopting a business-as-usual approach to agriculture in Ghana is really not an option if long-term and sustainable food security is to be achieved. But already, Ghana commits almost 10% of its annual budget to improving agriculture, placing it top of the list of investors in the sector in Africa. Added to this, Ghana’s spending on agricultural research and development more than doubled between 2002 and 2008.>>>continue

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

Ghana: Land Grab and Food Security

In recent times, the dire need for environmentally friendly means of energy has clouded the minds of many to the simple safety of humanity. It'll be the African who'll suffer from these business practices of allowing the rich to plunder
the poor. Whiles, many are starving from lack of food in Africa, others are more concerned about Biofuel. Economically its wise to sell off your less than 1000cedis a month farm for Biofuel if you'll earn more. One can easily use his profit to buy imported food and also make a good living for him/herself. The decision-maker who already buys from the Accra-Mall will not be hurt. Again,its the poor ones with no access to roads to travel the length of the country who'll be left to the harsh seasons.

After reading food security, one will come to conclude the need for urgent land-reform. Its not enough for the country to take on a rice culture   whiles unable to produce the commodity on its own. We're creating a dangerous society.

Trading Injustice: The Ghana Tomato Story

These are some of the downsides of free trade. Again, it's those people who are ignorant about the pros and cons of these trades. It's heart-wrenching that even in the 21st century, African leaders are still impoverished in ideologies and decision-making. The case of the tomatoes sellers are no exception. The part 1 and part 2 of the Tomato Story in Ghana: