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Some shopping centres, retail outlets and offices in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis have been decorated with red flowers, ribbons and other Decoratives in preparation towards this year's Valentine Day celebration. When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) team toured the Central Business District of Takoradi, it observed that many shops had been stocked with red teddy bears, both men and women wear, boxes of chocolate, flowers, and other valentine-branded items, with some displayed on tables on pavements along the streets. Speaking to the GNA in an interview, Mr Rexford Konduah, the owner of Expression Gifts and Cards, said residents had started trooping his shop to purchase some items for their loved ones, adding 'With as low as GH?10, you can buy something for your loved ones'. Madam Elizabeth Opare, a gift shop owner, who also spoke to the GNA said prices of her items were moderate for all, saying 'Our red mugs are going for GH?13, packaged toffees and chocolates for GH?5 and GH?10 respectively, key holders for GH?5 and a teddy bear GH?150'. She, however, mentioned that sales were not all that encouraging, and hoped for a good turn-out during the celebration period. Mr Emmanuel Sam, the owner of 'Big Time Boutique, noted that business was normal even as the valentine celebration approached and hoped for better last-minute sales. According to him, 'showing love to others must be an everyday thing and not only on Val's Day… personally, I do not wait till special days or occasions to show love, I show love almost every day.' Valentines Day also known as Chocolate Day in Ghana is a worldwide celebration to acknowledge Saint Valentine who was known to be the father of love and his act of commitment to whoever encountered him. The celebration mostly called for exchange of gifts not only between lovers but among friends and family members. Source: Ghana News Agency

Some fishers, traders, and people who have associations along the beaches of the Western Region have confirmed the growing phenomenon of exchanging sex for fish. They attributed the behaviour to unemployment, particularly among women who usually found themselves loitering around the beaches, lack of self-control, and discipline by some girls who found pleasure in such acts and the advantageous role by men to use such gullible individuals. A Ghana News Agency ((GNA) interview with women and men at the New Takoradi Fish Landing Beach, revealed that women who usually exchanged their bodies for fish later sold the fishes to get money to meet their pressing needs. While some have made it a usual business, others only come in during bumper season to engage in the trade. Fisherman Ekow Yawda, aka 'Kwesi Botwey,' told the GNA that the practice was common in all coastal areas. She said: 'There are some women who exchange sex for fish from fishermen to either consume or sell to make ends meet.' 'These women, incl uding teenagers, would be roaming around the seashore in their hot dresses, collect fish from the fishermen without paying and will agree to have sex with the fishermen later in the evening,' other fishermen collaborated. Regina Constance Eshun, a patron at the beach said, people do meet their life partners from the practice, adding, 'yes, sometimes you might tried other relationships but did not work, so if you come here and you meet a guy who is interested in you, why not, you will definitely give it a try.' Madam Monica Simpson, Deaconess with the Church of Pentecost, described the practice as an affront to womanhood and must be guided against. She called on parents and society to help curb the behaviour and find innovative ways of empowering the girl-child. Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Roger Kanton, a former Research Scientist with the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), says agricultural research is the key driver of agricultural development in every country. He said it was particularly crucial for unearthing novel technologies and innovations in this era of climate change and climate variability. Dr Kanton was speaking at the Swedru Conversations: An Annual Thought Leadership Event by the Alumni Association of the Swedru Senior High School in Accra. The event was titled 'Feeding Ourselves as a Nation: Perspectives on Revolutionalising Our Agriculture Fortunes.' The Swedru Conversations' aimed to solicit ideas for bridging the gaps in Ghana's agriculture value chain, which had resulted in heavy imports. He urged the current and future governments to allocate a dedicated fund to support the Agriculture Sector, including Research and Extension to enable the country to feed itself and export the surplus for hard -earned foreign currency to develop other sectors of the economy. 'This will be the best and stable way to arrest the frequent depreciation of the Ghanaian Cedi,' he said. He proposed that taxes on all manner of agricultural farm machinery and equipment be removed to make it easier for imports to bring in the desired machinery and equipment to boost agriculture. Dr Kanton said government and private sector players should be guided as to which machinery and equipment were required by farmers and in high demand. 'We need an immediate policy to establish a fertilizer manufacturing company,'' he said. He said as a country 'we cannot continue to depend on imports as shown during the COVID-19 and the Russian 'special military operation' in Ukraine. The Research Scientist said the high cost of mineral fertilizer, coupled with late arrival, and dubious chemical contents had their toll on crop productivity and foreign Seed Companies should be made to set up farms in Ghana for monitoring and early seed delivery. H e called for the formation of a solid non-partisan 'National Union of Ghanaian Farmers (NUGFA) comprising the various existing components of the key Agricultural Value Chain Actors. This Union should have National, Regional and District Offices across the country and it should be formed by the value chain actors without external influence.? He said it was not just enough to produce but also to ensure value addition. This will also open doors to the foreign market, which has a higher premium compared to the local market and is also readily available in the sub-region. The Research Scientist said the causes of food and nutrition insecurity in Ghana were diverse, multi-faceted and interconnected. He said addressing these challenges required a holistic, comprehensive, scientific and coordinated approach, which should involve all stakeholders along the agricultural value chain. He said recognizing and understanding these factors were crucial steps towards implementing effective and efficient cost-effective s trategies to enhance productivity, efficiency, and profitability. 'The emphasis should also be on nutrition and food self- sufficiency and not food security as has traditionally been the case,' he added. Professor Kwame Agyei Frimpong, Associate Professor at the Department of Soil Science, UCC, said agriculture needed to rebrand and it also had to be reviewed as a sustainable business. 'We also need to develop our infrastructure for the distribution and storage of farm produces,' he added. Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Lottery Authority (NLA) has funded the construction and completion of an ultra-modern water-closet toilet facility project for the Odumase Community in the Sunyani West Municipality. The project was initiated by Madam Amma Fimpomaa, a defeated Election 2024 parliamentary aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Sunyani West, who is also the National Coordinator of Good Causes Foundation of the NLA. Speaking at an inauguration ceremony to hand over the project to the community, Madam Frimpomaa entreated the residents and the general public to practice good and proper sanitation to maintain environmental best practices to prevent outbreak of diseases. She observed improper sanitation practices created environmental health problems that could affect a whole community with diverse infectious diseases, saying sometimes it resulted in epidemics, causing unexpected deaths. Madam Frimpomaa hoped the presence of the facility would help, particularly to save the people from practicing open defecat ion which contributed to the outbreak of diseases like cholera in communities. Touching on the activities of the Foundation, Madam Frimpomaa said it was the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of the NLA, saying the provision of the project was thus in line with the Authorities objective of giving back to Ghanaians as the its existence and sustenance over the years resulted from the support and patronage of its products and services by the general public. She announced the Authority had already constructed and inaugurated over 16 toilet facilities, provided bole holes to some selected communities, and supported the vulnerable such as widows and physically challenged persons in the country. Madam Frimpomaa advised the public to be wary of fake lottery operators in the country who might try to dupe them because some fraudsters' mode of operation in the lottery business had been receiving their unsuspected victims' money with the view to doubling it for them but ended as fraud. Mr Evans Kusi-Boadum, th e Sunyani West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) thanked the NLA for the provision of the facility and advised the people to maintain it well for its long-lasting use not only in their own interest but for the benefit of the generation yet unborn. Source: Ghana News Agency

A 31-year-old businessman and two others have appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for unlawfully demolishing a 12-bedroom house in Nungua, Accra. Abdul Rahman Kamaro, Benjamin Kojo Sarfo, 36, Enoch Aboagye both Earth Moving Machine Operators have been charged with causing unlawful damage. Kamaro has additionally been charged with abetment of crime. The value of the family property is said to be valued at GHC902,211. 12 cedis. The three accused persons have pleaded not guilty before the court presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah. The court has admitted them to bail in the sum of GHC900,000 each, with two sureties to be justified. The court said two other sureties are to be Ghanaian citizens. The matter has been adjourned to March 4, 2024. The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Daniel Danku, said the complainant Samuel Adjetey Adjei is a businessman residing in Nungua. Chief Inspector Danku said Kamaro resides at Adjei Kojo, near Ashiaman, while Sarfo and Aboagye are residents of Iron City, Kas oa. The prosecutor told the court that the complainant is one of the children of the late Larley Bi Adjei who had a 12-bedroom house at Nungua, Cold Store. The prosecution said the complainant and his siblings had been renting out the house at Nungua to tenants. In February 2023, the complainant and siblings ejected all the tenants from the house with the view of renovating the property. According to the prosecution, on October 14, 2023, Kamaro hired the services of Sarfo and Aboagye who brought along a bulldozer and 'caused damage to the building without the consent of the complainant and his family members and also without a court order.' The prosecution said the police arrested Sarfo and Aboagye who admitted the offence and mentioned Kamaro as the person who engaged them to demolish the building. It said Kamaro later apprehended, and he admitted to hiring the two other accused persons to demolish the building. Source: Ghana News Agency