Day: March 22, 2024

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), with its collaborator, Akuafo Nketewa Company Limited, have met to discuss a pre-season award ceremony to recognize farmers contribution to agriculture in the Upper East region. The day, slated for March 27 and 28 in the Navrongo Municipality of the Upper East Region, is also expected to award deserving sorghum farmers and aggregators. It is on the theme: 'The role of the small holder farmer in addressing food and climate change challenges in Ghana.' The programme is the brainchild of the PFAG and Akuafo Nketewa Company Ltd, aimed to honour farmers and agribusiness owners for the immense role they play in agriculture development in the country. Dr Charles Nyaaba, former National President, PFAG, and now the Board Chair of Akuafo Nketewa Company Ltd, who spoke to the media on the sidelines of the meeting, said it was to whip up and sustain interest of the youth in farming. Dr Nyaaba, in an earlier presentation, said some major innovations would be launched on the awards day, comprising a farmers pension scheme and a cooperative and credit union to help farmers and agribussinesses to save and rely on those savings in times of need. He said access to financial services was a challenge and the new schemes would help the farmers, in urgent need, to withdraw their savings to cushion them. 'One of the things we have observed is that farmers toil to till the land to produce food to feed the nation but during old age how they fund their medical expenses is a problem,' Dr Nyaaba said. The farmers, while still producing, could put some savings aside for future use. As part of government's plans to roll out the phase two of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJs), the leadership of the farmers educated members on the new programme and outlined the objectives of the Phase Two. This includes to promote agriculture development, food security, increased productivity and job creation through adoption of holistic value chain approach. Dr Nyaaba encouraged members to share t he information with other farmers and encourage them to actively get involved in the registration process and participate in it. He said the second phase promised better intervention including mechanisation services , extension and provision of inputs more than the first phase. Some of the members shared some of the challenges experienced under the Phase One, which included low farmer- extension-officer ratio, and hoped the new phase would be able to address those problems. Source: Ghana News Agency

Three Ghanaian PhD students, including one female, have received a $35,000 research grant each from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to research on vaccines therapies, and diagnosis to combat emerging infectious diseases. The beneficiaries are the first batch of 20 PhD and MPhil students earmarked to undertake cutting-edge discovery and transnational research as part of the Post Covid-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP). The research grants, which is a component of the $28million five-year PSDPEP project, will support innovative research using synthetic peptides, monoclonal antibodies, and natural products. The main objective of the project is to contribute to Ghana's sustainable post COVID-19 recovery in the health sector and support the restoration of livelihoods, income and employment opportunities and private sector development. Mr Justice Amankwah Mensah, the PSDPEP Project Coordinator, presented the grants to the first three beneficiaries at a ceremony in Accra on Friday. Mrs Josephine Banini, a medical laboratory scientist at the Ashiaman Municipal Hospital, and a PhD student at the University of Ghana, is researching on the topic: 'Exploring Anti-Mycobacterium activity of selected natural plants extracts in Ghana: Identification of active compounds and evaluation of safety.' Mr Lennox Mac-Ankrah, a lecturer at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, is researching on the topic: 'Mutations within and flanking the integrase gene in people living with HIV on Dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy.' The last beneficiary, Mr Saeed Alhassan, a lecturer at the Accra Technical University, is researching on the topic: 'Antimicrobial efficacy of medicinal plants and peptide against multi-drug resistant bacteria.' Presenting the grants, Mr Mensah, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Social Investment Fund, the implementing agency for the Project, congratulated the three PhD students and encouraged them to take advantage of the facility to contribute to i mproving Ghana's health and research architecture. 'This is a project with timelines and, therefore, work hard and be determined to complete your programmes within the set timelines - that is 2027.' Reverend Professor Kwamena Sagoe, Project Lead, PSDPEP, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana, announced that the second call for research grants, will end on March 29, 2024. He said the Project would prioritise women, persons with special needs, and applicants who are already working in institutions, adding that an amount of $450,000 had been designated to the training and research component of the Project. 'We encourage young ideas; people with brilliant ideas (to apply). We want to create the platform and help you bring the ideas to support our health delivery system,' Prof. Sagoe said. Mrs Banini expressed excitement over her selection to pursue the research and encouraged the team to work effectively to generate outcomes that would shape the country's health system. 'We want to check i f the local plants that we have can be an alternative source to treat tuberculosis,' she said. In June 2022, the Government of Ghana signed a five-year (2022-2027) agreement with the AfDB to implement the PSDPEP. The Project is being funded from a grant facility of $US 28.5 million from the AfDB. The Ministry of Finance is the Executing Agency whilst the SIF is the Implementing Agency for the project. Other implementers of the Project are: Ghana News Agency, Department of Medical Microbiology, Biotechnology Centre School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Ghana and the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre. Source: Ghana News Agency

EcoCare Ghana, a rights-based campaign and advocacy organisation, has urged the chocolate industry to continue to prioritise sustainability, fair labour practices, and environmental conservation. This includes ensuring fair compensation to farmers, promoting responsible sourcing practices, reducing pesticide use, and safeguarding against any child or forced labour and deforestation. Legislations such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and consumer awareness, which has led to demand for 'better' chocolate is driving positive change in the industry. Mr Obed Owusu-Addai, the Managing Campaigner, EcoCare Ghana, said this at a press briefing in Accra on Friday to launch the 5th Edition of the Chocolate Scorecard, on the theme: 'Making Sure the Chocolate You Eat is a Good Chocolate'. The Chocolate Scorecard ranks and grades companies on key sustainability issues affecting the cocoa value-chain and to promote transparency, accountability, and responsible practices within the industry. The co mpanies are scored based on traceability and transparency, living income for farmers, child labour, deforestation and climate change, agroforestry and pesticides. Mr Owusu-Addai said the 5th Edition of the Chocolate Scorecard revealed a significant improvement in the industry, but key challenges such as farmer poverty remained unaddressed. However, the chocolate industry had the resources to address those challenges, based on its strength and lucrativeness. He said forecasted revenue growth stood at 5.6 per cent, surpassing global economic growth estimates of 2.6 per cent, in 2024, expected to generate around USD254 billion. The Managing Campaigner said it was encouraging to see the majority of respondent companies recognising a living income as a basic human right, though only six companies were paying 100 per cent to their farmers as Living Income Reference Price. Improvements in traceability were evident in response to EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) yet achieving full EUDR compliance remained a ' work in progress', he said. The companies were increasingly aware of their responsibility to ensure that farmers got decent incomes from cocoa, but still too many farmers remained in poverty, Mr Owusu-Addai said, and that without additional financial support, that would continue. The recently passed Cooperate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive by the EU has now recognised Living Income as a human right issue, compeling industries to begin realigning their purchasing practices to reflect the new paradigm. Child labour responses were increasing in effectiveness mainly due to the lack of scale of programmes, hence all stakeholders, including producers, governments and the industry must work together towards a common goal targeting wider coverage and inclusivity, he said. Environmental initiatives such as climate targets, ending deforestation and use of agroforestry were gaining momentum, partly due to emerging legislation requiring that companies seriously cared for the planet. 'However, in Ghana issues such as tree and land tenure are still posing limitations for uptake of agroforestry. There is the need for legislative and policy realignment to support the implementation of agroforestry initiatives,' Mr Owusu -Addai said. He urged governments, NGOs, companies and consumers to work together to ensure that farmers were supported to meet the requirements for EUDR compliance and were compensated fairly for their efforts. He called for child labour interventions to be scaled up and to eradicate it in all supply chains, with enhanced traceability and focus on addressing the root causes such as poverty. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Donyina Circuit Court has remanded four drug peddlers into police custody for allegedly attacking police officers who were conducting operations at the Aboabo School Park in the Asokore-Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region. Philemon Agyei, 22, Ali Abdallah, 18, Baba Issah, 18, and Mohammed Yussif, 20, will reappear before the court, presided by Mrs Aliata Saeed, on April 8, this year. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Andrews Banafo, prosecuting, told the court that the Airport Police Command in Kumasi received information that the Aboabo school park had become a den of 'wee' smoking and drug peddling. He said on March 20, 2024, at about 1930 hours, the Airport Police Command launched an operation in the area to arrest persons involved in those activities and succeeded in arresting the four. Other drug peddlers and smokers who were also at the vicinity, numbering about 100, attacked the police personnel on duty with cutlasses, mallets, sticks and stones, prosecution said. The police had a hectic time to disperse the crowd after arresting the four members of the gang. ASP Banafo said the suspects were sent to the police station and arraigned after investigations. Source: Ghana News Agency

As the world marks Water Day today, March 22, the people of Nintin and Hwidiem, a twin farming community in the Asante Mampong Municipality, are struggling unendingly to get potable water for their daily household use. The perennial water scarcity in the two farming communities, located on the Kumasi-Ejura Highway of the Ashanti Region, is becoming a huge socio-economic burden for the people. These communities are noted for the sale of organic fruits such as bananas, pawpaw and avocado. The situation, according to Mr Nicholas Osei-Owusu, the Assemblyman for the area, has affected basic school attendance and the health of the people. The most affected are school children and women who trek deep into the valley of the Mampong scarp to collect water flowing from the rocks and forming small dams on the rock surfaces. A visit to the community by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) showed that aside the women and children walking far distances to search for water, healthy living, sanitation and hygiene in the two com munities have become a challenge as most of the residents resort to open defecation. The yellow gallons, popularly referred to as 'Kufuor gallons' are the esteemed household assets in the towns since they are the most sought after and popular water fetching articles. Commercial tricycle riders, who travel to Bosofour, near Mampong to fetch water, charge GHc 2.00 per gallon. The situation, Mr Osei-Owusu noted, was not only affecting the financial situation of the people, who are peasant farmers, but also eroding their meagre incomes. He told the GNA that several efforts to sink boreholes at various locations in the communities had proved futile due to the hard rocks beneath the ground. With a total population of approximately 5,000 residents, the two communities have endured this situation for many years and with the impact of climate change, the challenge was becoming more unbearable since the water from the rocks was also depleting. 'School attendance, household incomes and social life are being worst affected daily, and urgent attention is needed to save the situation,' Mr Osei-Owusu said. He appealed to the Government, foreign missions and non- governmental organisations in Ghana to go to their aid in finding lasting solutions to the communities' predicament. Source: Ghana News Agency