'Ghana Holds Potential For Vegetable Production'

Vegetable Production

The Programme Leader of GhanaVeg, Mr Joep van den Broek, has said the country could become self-sufficient in vegetable production when the public works with the private sector as stakeholders for a year-round irrigated production.

He said it would be a win-win for both sides when the public sector developed infrastructure and attracted the private sector to come in with other logistics and infrastructure within the value chain.

“Ultimately, a lot of opportunities for Ghana lie in irrigated production throughout the country, from the south, the middle belt and the north. The country is nestled around water bodies but with very little irrigation. With irrigation, you can do off-season production and meet local demand and stop the importation of onions, tomatoes and other vegetables.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic at the 9th GhanaVeg Business Platform in Accra, the programme leader said the country had a perfect climate for the production of vegetables such as onions, chillies and tomatoes, and that coupled with the abundance of water, the country had all going for it to become a major player in the production of vegetables.

A Dutch trade mission, comprising leading vegetable sector companies, was in the country to explore market and investment opportunities.

GhanaVeg, which created the platform to bring players in the industry together to touch base on trends and developments, is a four-year strategic response (2014-2017) by the Netherlands to develop a sustainable and internationally competitive vegetable sector in the country to contribute to inclusive economic growth.

It is a bilateral support by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands committed to developing and promoting commercial vegetables sector in the country. Selecting a sector to support was research-based which proved the country’s vast potential.

There are enormous market opportunities across the world for vegetables, with the Netherlands alone holding about 14 billion euros in value. In 2013 for instance, it imported 4.6 billion euros worth of fresh fruits and vegetables from 107 countries and exported 7.1 billion to 150 countries.

Ghana, where the need to consume more vegetable is catching on with the population imports various vegetables from the Netherlands and neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and La Cote d’Ivoire.

Mr Broek cited VegPro as a good example of how the government, under the Millennium Challenge Account grant, developed an irrigation project at Kpong at the Left Bank of Akuse Kpong Piped Irrigation Water Supply (KPIWS) Project for VegPro Ghana Limited.

A member of the trade mission, Bejo Seeds, visited a carrot farm at Mampong which produces 10 tons. But the seeds company representatives believed that with their intervention and further linkages with other solutions providers in the Netherlands, the company should be able to easily scale up yields to 40 tons.

The companies in the mission also included Unitherm, a cold chain provider; mechanization equipment providers, Kramer and Matrex, and was led by Mr Peter Verbaas, the director of the Dutch fruit and vegetables wholesale association, FrugiVenta.

GhanaVeg also presented findings on its private extension service study, which examined the three options of working with input suppliers to provide extension support to farmers.

These involved forming study clubs of farmers who share experience, knowledge and ideas and solve common challenges together, and a third option of using more consultancy services delivered by experts with vegetables as their specialization.

“We see great prospects in the third option. There are already a number of good agricultural consultancy companies in Ghana who are active in all kinds of sectors, including fruits and vegetables. What we would like to do with them is to see how they can expand their scope to training small scale farmers, groups of farmers and outgrower schemes with the latest state-of-the-art knowledge in vegetable production,” Mr Broek explained.

Working with smallholder farmers is a major requirement within GhanaVeg’s mandate, which is aimed at encouraging inclusive development.

AGRA – Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa Potential for high returns from agriculture

agriculture

Over the last decade, African economies have grown faster than any others in the world. But most of this growth has occurred outside of agriculture, even though agriculture employs one half to two-thirds of the population. This fact more than any other explains why Africa's economic expansion has failed to generate benefits for the majority of Africans. 

Heads of state, senior government officials and business leaders from around the world can help spur more inclusive growth in Africa by emphasizing investment in smallholder agriculture - food production on farms that are typically less than a hectare in size. These smallholder farms are the mainstay of Africa's agriculture system. And with the right mix of policies and investments from the public and private sector, they have potential to be global players. 

According to the World Bank, the value of Africa's agricultural output could soon triple, from an estimated $280 billion today to around $800 billion by 2030. That output could flow to Africa's urban food markets, which are expected to increase fourfold, and satisfy Africa's overall demand for food, which is projected by the African Union to almost triple by 2050, increasing by 178% compared to 89% in India and 31% in China. But, most importantly, if the investment is channelled to family farmers and local agriculture businesses, the benefits will accrue to the half billion Africans, many still mired in poverty, who rely on farming for food and income. 

We have a long way to go. Today, African farmers and agriculture businesses are attracting only 5.8% of total commercial lending on the continent, a strong signal that the majority of investors are not yet buying into this sector's potential returns. 

African governments recently pledged to increase significantly their investments in our smallholder farmers. Many believe a critical mass is gathering to mount a major turnaround in African agriculture. But for this transformation to occur, we must confront the fundamental challenges in production and marketing, along with the weak agriculture policies and institutions that have caused this sector to chronically underperform. 

The issues start in the field. African farmers use a smaller fraction of fertilizers, high quality seeds and basic farm machinery like tractors than their peers in other developing regions. Only 6% of cultivated land in Africa is irrigated. And when production challenges are addressed and yields increase, farmers often struggle to capitalize on their surplus. 

For example, due to a mix of infrastructure challenges and outdated trade policies, Africa's farmers and agriculture businesses still have enormous difficulty accessing markets - from the urban centres in their own countries, through their African neighbours just across the border, to potential buyers in regional markets. 

Moreover, food processing and other "value-added" agriculture activities, and the employment, income and investment that come with them, still occur largely outside of Africa for African markets with a resultant huge food import bill, not to mention the lost opportunity in exported jobs for African youth. 

There are examples in several countries where targeted reforms and a focus on attracting private sector investment in smallholder agriculture have achieved rapid results. In just a few years, Nigeria's imports of rice, sugar and fish fell from $11 billion to $7 billion. In Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Mali, increased access to seeds, fertilizers and other technologies is doubling and even tripling yields of critical food staples. 

Today, we are seeing that Africa's agriculture sector can expand rapidly and its benefits shared broadly when the focus shifts from traditional public sector-driven agriculture to more private sector-led endeavours. Then, government policy, spending and regulatory frameworks - aided by development partner support - can focus on positioning smallholder farmers and local African businesses in functioning markets to act as entrepreneurs and engage in partnerships with local, regional and international businesses that can facilitate inclusive economic growth. 

Even with the recent oil price slump, Africa remains the world's fastest growing region for foreign direct investment. As leaders meet in Addis this week, governments, business and international institutions need not only to embrace policies and incentives that can help fast track investment, but also direct a greater share of this capital to African farmers and African agriculture businesses. 

Making the right investment and policy decisions now will determine whether the fruits of Africa's enormous agriculture opportunities are harvested for the benefit of the 530 million Africans that depend on agriculture for food and income. It will also determine how inclusive Africa's economies become and whether the promise of African agriculture comes to fruition or remains unripened in the realm of a potential that is never realized.

MAFRA – Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea

Agricultural Ministers of ASEAN, Korea, China and Japan, Discussed Measures Korea, China and Japan, Discussed Measures Agricultural Food Industry in the Region

Date

2015-09-15

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA, Minister Lee Dong-phil) a nnounced that the Ministry's Deputy Minister Oh Kyung-tae would participate in the 15th ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF+3) held in Makati, Philippines on Friday, September 11th, in order to discuss measures to strengthen food security and to cooperate in the agricultural food industry in the ASEAN and the Northeast Asian region. * AMAF+3 is the venue to discuss cooperation in the industry of food, agriculture, forestry and fishery among the ASEAN member countries with Korea, China and Japan. Since 2001, the ASEAN member states have taken turns in hosting the meeting. Through the keynote speech, the Assistant Secretary emphasized that it is important for the ASEAN members as well as Korea, China and Japan to overcome the challenges that their rural areas face including climate change and economic crisis, through a sense of responsibility and cooperation. ❍ The delegation also shared the accomplishments of the cooperative projects among the ASEAN member states with Korea, China and Japan and as well as discussing measures for development. The delegation discussed measures for development of bioenergy for sustainable agriculture and rural development, and supported '2015 - 2025 ASEAN Plus Three Bioenergy and Food Security Framework.' Also, the delegation discussed the progress of the 'ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR)' and the 'ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS).' Both are designed to strengthen food security in the region and reduce poverty. ❍ APTERR is to provide rice to the ASEAN member states who are in the disaster stage in a prompt and systematical manner. Korea has been expressing that the nation reserves about 150,000 tons of rice and plans to strengthen relevant cooperation. ❍ The delegation introduced and encourages meeting participants for cooperation on the 'Establishment of AFSIS and Capability Building Project for Human Resources*' in the Philippines and Cambodia in 2015. Previously, Korea implemented such a project in Laos in 2014. * Establishing agriculture statistics information systems in each country, nurturing experts for utilizing system (in 2014 - 2016 with the budget of KRW 2.1 billion) In order to develop export markets for Korea's agricultural and livestock products, the delegation had bilateral meetings with the ministry's counterparts from Myanmar and Malaysia. ❍ During the bilateral meeting with Myint Hlaing, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of Myanmar, Deputy Minister Oh discussed cooperation measures in agriculture with him, and asked the minister for support from the Myanmarese side in expansion of exports of Korean agricultural and livestock products to Myanmar. ❍ During the bilateral meeting with Shabery Cheek, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry of Malaysia, Deputy Minister Oh asked the minister for his interest in and support of Korean companies so that Korean milk exports can be smoothly expanded in the Malaysian market. Korean milk recently achieved the Malaysian government's halal certification.

PRESS RELEASE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO IMPLEMENT FERTILIZER QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM.

group photo

The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has resolved to develop a regulatory framework for quality checks and enforcement to ensure that farmers access quality fertilizers.

The Permanent Secretary, FMARD, Arc. Sonny Echono, represented by the Director, Farm Input Support Service Department of the Ministry, Mr. Akinbolawa Osho, disclosed this on Tuesday, 15^th September, 2015 at the launch of a soil project on the Establishment and Implementation of fertilizer Quality Control System in Nigeria, fully supported by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) at the Ministry’s Headquarter in Abuja.

 

Arc. Echono stated that the legal and regulatory framework for fertilizer quality control would enable federal government inspectors to undertake periodic quality control at fertilizer production plants, ports of discharge and market outlets. He said that fertilizer samples would be drawn by inspection officials for laboratory analysis.

The Permanent Secretary said government has identified some violations in the subsector which include plant nutrient deficiencies, misbranding, adulteration, short weight of bags, bagging quality, operating without certificate of registration or with expired certificate of registration. He however condemned the activities of some unscrupulous players who have been ripping off farmers the benefit accruable from their investment in fertilizer.

Arc. Echono stated that a Draft Fertiliser Bill the ministry sent to the National Assembly has passed the first reading and would ensure it’s passed into law soonest. He maintained Present Administration’s drive in the Agricultural Sector of the economy which is geared towards employment generation, food security and poverty reduction.

He however appreciated the support of AGRA towards the development of a regulatory framework for the establishment and implementation of fertilizer quality control system in Nigeria.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Deputy Director, quality Control, FMARD, who is also the project Manager, Mrs. Chinyere Akudinobi, stated that the project was aimed at developing and implementing a functional fertilizer regulatory system in the country which she said would address the problems of fertilizer quality in Nigeria.

In the goodwill message of AGRA, delivered by Mary Yaodze, Technical Assistant to the soil health program, she expressed the confidence the organisation reposed in the ministry and pledged their continued collaboration, which she said would improve production, quality of fertilizer and its control.

The launch of the project had in attendance representatives of Development Partners from ECOWAS Commission, International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC), USAID (Nigeria), and the clerks of both the Senate and House Committees on agriculture.

Tony Ohaeri

Director (Information)

16^th September, 2015.

AGRA – Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa Supporting Kenya's Agricultural Transformation Agenda

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

AGRA is committed to continuing its support for Kenya's Agricultural Transformation Agenda. This is the message that AGRA President, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, delivered to Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto in a meeting last week at his Karen Office. 

As a core partner to the government of Kenya for many years, the Deputy President welcomed Dr. Kalibata and a delegation from AGRA to discuss how AGRA can serve as a core strategic partner in delivering on the country's priorities to advance and sustain its agricultural transformation. 

Kenya has been and remains a focus country for AGRA. Since its inception, AGRA has made investments in Kenya and Kenyan organizations totaling more than USD 40 million. AGRA has invested in setting up seed systems and seed companies, fertilizer systems, markets, and improving agricultural finance. In particular, AGRA has helped train 24 PhD experts in plant breeding and agronomy, as well 8 Masters students in crop and soil science, and it has supported the KARLO breeding program to develop new, locally adapted seed varieties.

It has supported the establishment and strengthening of seed companies and the development and training of more than 1,500 agro-dealers to support farmers' access to inputs, so that nearly one million farmers are now using improved seed varieties and seeing increased yields. Among other things, AGRA has also made investments in Kenya to help enhance the fertilizer quality control system, improve markets for smallholder farmers, and enhance farmer-specific finance products, through partnerships like KilimoBiashara with Equity Bank. 

Going forward, President Kalibata offered to continue to use AGRA's technical expertise, understanding of lessons of what works from other countries, and targeted grant funds to help build on and sustain the gains Kenya has made in recent years. AGRA will continue supporting seed companies and seed systems with research, training, and capacity, particularly to help increase the country's supply of seed nationally and in the region. AGRA will also work with actors like the Agricultural Finance Corporation to increase access to financing for farmers and agribusinesses in Kenya. It will also explore all other areas key to supporting Kenya's agricultural transformation, including markets, value addition, ICT, and beyond. 

The meeting ultimately marked the continuation of a strategic partnership between AGRA and the Kenyan government, and the AGRA President agreed that it will be following up with Deputy President Ruto very soon on support it can provide to Kenya's agricultural development and potential agricultural leadership in the region and across the continent.