Northern Women Petition Government over Block Farming Project

Women groups in the Northern Region of Ghana have asked the ruling government to acquire land banks through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and allocate at least 70% of these lands to women in order to boost farming and food security in the area.

According to the women, this would provide adequate security of tenure to women farmers to increase their participation in the Block Farming Project initiated by the government three years ago.

They observed that, the Block Farming Project as a strategy to increase women participation should expand the crops currently being produced to include more crops such as groundnuts and vegetables which many women farmers were cultivating.

About 80% of the entire population of the Northern Region is engaged in agriculture – mostly producing to feed their families while some are sold in the local market to cater for other needs at home. This is probably due to the fact that, a considerable amount of the total land area of the region estimated to be 70,383 square kilometers, is fertile for agricultural purposes. For instance, in 2010 the region produced 110,430 metric tons of maize, rice 62,930, millet 50,290, sorghum 59,370, cassava 83,910 and yam 117,810 (Ghana, MoFA Report).

Thus, as the world marked International Day of Rural Women and World Food Day celebrations in October 15^th and 16^th respectively, women in the Northern Region who represents the majority of the labour force engaged in agriculture called on MoFA (implementers of government agriculture programmes) to intensify educational campaigns on the Block Farming Project to adequately educate and inform smallholder farmers especially women on the opportunities offered by the project and how they could equitably benefit from it.

The concerns of the women which were contained in a communiqué issued after a brief ceremony to commemorate the two international events organized by ActionAid-Ghana, also entreated government to with immediate action; employ more Agric Extension Agents to enhance their availability to provide technical support to smallholder farmers, especially women.

The communiqué further called on the President of the Republic of Ghana through the Northern Regional Minister to see to the immediate action on their demands in order to secure their increase contribution to food security in Ghana.

The Block Farming Project began in 2009 afford individuals and groups the opportunity to cultivate several acres of crops such as rice, maize and soya beans as government provides them with assistance in the form of tractor services and fertilizer subsidies. After harvesting, the farmers are required to pay back the cost of tractor services and fertilizer either in cash or in kind (by giving out some number of bags of his farm produce).

The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. This new international day, established by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007, recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”

Rural women play a critical role in the rural economies of both developed and developing countries. In most parts of the developing world, they participate in crop production and livestock care, provide food, water and fuel for their families, and engage in off-farm activities to diversify their families’ livelihoods. In addition, they carry out vital functions in caring for children, older persons and the sick.

The World Food Day on the other hand was proclaimed in 1979 by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It marks the date of the founding of FAO in 1945. The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. In 1980, the UN General Assembly endorsed observance of the Day in consideration of the fact that "food is a requisite for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human necessity" (resolution 35/70 of 5 December 1980). It is observed on 16^th October every year.

Indeed, price swings, upswings in particular, represent a major threat to food security in developing countries including Ghana. Hardest-hit are the poor. According to the World Bank, in 2010-2011 rising food costs will push nearly 70 million people in developing countries into extreme poverty.

Thus, “Food Prices – From Crisis To Stability” has been chosen as this year’s World Food Day theme to shed some light on this trend and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable.

Investment in Economic Activities: Backbone to Bridging North-South Development Gap

A senior economist at the World Bank office in Ghana, Sebastian Dessus has advocated that the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) Secretariat should seriously consider supporting economic activities that would actually speedup the bridging of the development imbalance between the North and South of the country.

Citing the construction of feeder roads, irrigation schemes, out-grower schemes among others, he said “North-South connectivity is not an issue. Rather, it is the lack of connection to the backbone of infrastructure and markets (feeder roads), low agricultural productivity and low human capital which explain the North’s economic isolation.”

Speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop in Tamale, Dessus noted that one way to safely avoid the risk of spatial misallocation in public intervention is to invest in human capital (education, health, social protection, security) rather than locations, given individuals’ ability to relocate where economic opportunities are.

The workshop, organized by the SADA Secretariat under the theme: “Reaching The Poor In Northern Savannah”, was aimed at sharing and reflecting on the findings of two poverty studies on the North, within the North.

It was also intended to bring together state and non-state actors in the North to consider how the poor could be reached more effectively by the programmes and interventions they implement.

North-South migration (kaya-yei), Dessus explained, remains moderate and economically unsuccessful, driven by desperation, rather than sustainable opportunities. Migration can be successful, but most migrants from the North are not equipped enough or educated to succeed, he pointed out in a report titled: “Tackling Poverty In Northern Ghana.”

According to the World Bank Economist, Ghana was among the best poverty reduction performers in the world, but the North comprising of Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions, was lagging behind. “The North is poorer than the South: 63% of the population is poor in the North, against 20% in the South”, he stressed.

Meanwhile, a research report presented by Dr. Seidu Al-hassan of the University for Development Studies (UDS) for validation revealed that 68% of the population in the SADA operational area had not yet heard about it whereas 32% claimed they had heard about SADA.

Also, 85% of those interviewed claimed their source of information about SADA was through the media (electronic media), 11% through personal communication and 4% said through workshops they attended.

Besides, the report further pointed out that 67% of people at the tertiary level of education had knowledge about SADA as against 33% who were unaware, 44% at the Secondary level as against 56%, 23% at Basic level as against 77% and 11% at Non-formal level as against 89%.

The research, which was intended to assess the knowledge, understanding and expectations of the people of the savannah ecological zone of Ghana and other critical stakeholders about SADA, also found out that 65% of those in the formal sector of the economy knew about SADA whereas 35% did not know, 22% in the informal sector as against 78% and 25% unemployed as against 75% respectively.

Dr. Seidu observed that all things being equal, there was broad support for SADA and its vision and no political disagreements or obvious social disagreements about this vision.

However, he cautioned that there needs to be more clarity on the roadmap to be adopted and better awareness created on the specifics of SADA’s mandate and planned programmes. Adding that, “There also needs to be more targeted and qualitative engagement with specific stakeholders who can critically contribute to achieving the aims and objectives of SADA.”

Dr. Seidu Al-hassan also advised that SADA must maintain its mandate as planner /coordinator and not implementer and ensure that resources were channelled into projects. SADA should desist from politicizing the initiative, maintain political neutrality and seek bi-partisan consensus by bringing on board the views and expectations of all political groups through continuous consultations.

Shea Industry Facing Serious Challenges –UNDP Report

A study commissioned in October 2010 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) into how the shea industry in Ghana performed during the period of the global financial crisis has revealed that, with the exception of companies exporting shea nuts and butter, all other actors in the industry complained about poor markets.

The crisis brought with it negative effects on the local market for the shea industry manifesting itself in several ways, the report said. Adding, “Specifically, shea butter processors, nut pickers, local agents and manufacturers of shea nut roasting equipment faced a reduction in output and income”.

The 2008/2009 financial crisis is said to have had debilitating effects on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally. However, the extent to which the crisis generally affected SMEs in Ghana and its shea industry in particular is not well known. In October 2010, the UNDP, Accra office, commissioned a study to examine the impact of the global financial crisis on the shea industry in Ghana with emphasis on the channels of transmission and how small and medium scale enterprise owners responded to the crisis.

The study aimed at reviewing literature on the impact of global economic crisis on the performance of SMEs; identifying key players in Ghana’s shea industry with the aim of knowing the nature and extent of the impact of the crisis on each of them; critically analyzing the specific channels of transmission of the impact; investigating the crisis adjustment strategies adopted by the various key players in the industry; and providing policy recommendations.

Indeed, the shea industry in Ghana occupies an important place in the economic development agenda of the country, because of its role in job creation, industrial development and growth of national economy. Besides, the shea industry can promote regional development in Africa.

The report dubbed “The Impact Of The Economic Crisis On Local Small And Medium Industries: The Case of Shea Butter Industry In Ghana”, which was conducted by the Centre for Continuing Education and Inter-disciplinary Research (CCEIR) of the University for Development Studies (UDS) for UNDP was presented recently at a workshop in Tamale for validation.

The study was conducted in 14 communities in Northern and Upper West regions of Ghana including 4 districts namely; Tamale Metropolis and West Mamprusi District in Northern Region and Wa Municipal and Nadowli District in the Upper West region.

According to Dr. Seidu Al-hassan, Director of CCEIR of UDS who presented the report, shea butter processors also complained about the increased unemployment due to poor market conditions coupled with a reduction in household purchasing power as a result of low domestic market for shea commodities amidst high inflation and cost of borrowing rates. Adding, “For instance, average quantity of shea butter produced fell by 49%; average price of shea nut reduced from GH¢0.90 per bowl to GH¢ 0.80 and about 5% of the women complained about the collapse of their working capital. Also, in Tamale the average number of bags sold during the crisis, were 2 and 5 bags after the crisis representing about 150% increase.” Besides, the Gurugu Tiehisuma women shea butter processing centre collapsed because of local agents who had failed to pay for an amount of shea butter worth GH¢1,300 bought on credit. This led to 70% job losses, Dr. Seidu said disclosing further that “13 shea butter processors out of 43 belonging to Gumo Women shea butter processing group completely exited. 45 out of 75 individual shea butter processors of the Malshegu Women shea butter processing group also exited whereas over 80% of shea butter processors cut down production by way of coping.”

He explained that the evidence surprisingly showed that companies that exported shea nut and butter did not suffer much partly due to the fact that they had enough stock to meet international market demand during the crisis period.

Credit institutions including rural banks and microfinance institutions according to the report, suffered from declining loanable funds, high loan default rates, reduced outreach programmes and increased operational costs due to the crisis. This invariably affected the shea sector seriously, because the credit institutions became reluctant to provide credits to households and business enterprises for fear of default.

The report urged policymakers to focus on interventions that link small business owners in the shea industry to reliable markets rather than focusing on the supply side, adding that emphasis should be placed on strengthening existing markets while creating new ones. For instance, it said the market for shea butter in the African sub-region is low and this should be strengthened in order to encourage regional trade in shea commodities, stressing that “the government of Ghana can also support procurement by buying shea commodities from small enterprises”.

The report finally implored entrepreneurs in the shea butter sub-sector to be more aggressive and proactive in seeking out and exploiting new business opportunities. Aside value addition which is a strategy being adopted by some entrepreneurs, the report advocated that there was the need to develop their capacity further in key areas such as resource mobilization, efficiency of resource allocation, market opportunity identification, product quality promotion and business development.

FOOD ASSISTANCE BUILDS BRIDGE BETWEEN HUNGER AND HOPE –WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) has marked World Food Day with highlights on the vital role that its food assistance play during humanitarian crises, supporting recovery in the immediate aftermath of disasters, and building the resilience that is necessary to ensure food security.

WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran in a statement issued to the media including Savannahnews said that “Across the world, we are the bridge between hunger and hope for millions of people. WFP is providing life-saving food assistance in the midst of crises like the drought in the Horn of Africa”, she stated.

According to her, in countries like Libya, WFP is supporting communities that are striving to recover from crisis, and in places like Haiti, it continues to work with governments and civil society to build resilience so that the vulnerable are better able to cope when the next disaster strikes.

Relief, recovery and resilience are the three defining pillars of WFP’s work in more than 70 countries around the world, where the UN agency is bringing the most effective and appropriate food assistance to close to 100 million people this year.

WFP Country Director for Ghana, Ismail Omer, also said in the statement that the organization is providing much-needed food relief to 10,000 Ivorian refugees camped in the Central, Western and Brong-Ahafo Regions.

Support is also being provided to the Ghana School Feeding Programme whilst a recovery operation is assisting over 400,000 people who have been badly hit by recurrent floods, droughts, and rising food prices, he said, adding that “Most of them are participating in food-for-work programmes which support the re-construction of vital community infrastructure such as the desilting of dug-outs and reforestation projects currently being undertaken in the three Regions of the North.”

This year’s theme for World Food Day, “Food Prices – from Crisis to Stability”, underlines the role that food assistance can play in protecting vulnerable communities that are affected by food price volatility.

Thus, WFP is deploying an increasingly sophisticated array of innovative tools to address the needs of people who are struggling to access the nutrition they need for their families on a daily basis – including those in many developing countries who have borne the brunt of the turbulence on global food markets.

The statement said food security in developing countries could be strengthened by empowering smallholder farmers, citing WFP’s Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative, a pilot programme in 21 countries that is providing farmers with the expertise to improve the quality and size of their yields, and better connect them to markets.

Meanwhile, Ismail Omer, Country Director of WFP also disclosed that the organization is supporting the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to provide nutritious food to 60,000 pregnant and nursing women and children under-5. It is also working with other UN agencies under the Renewed Efforts Against Child Hunger and Undernutrition, and the Scale-up Nutrition initiatives, both of which are picking up momentum and will help government and all stakeholders give renewed focus to nutrition issues, he noted.

He further revealed that the P4P initiative has begun with training programmes taking place for 1,330 smallholder maize farmers in Ejura-Sekyedumase and rice farmers in Tamale and Tolon-Kumbungu in the Ashanti and Northern Region respectively.

WEST MAMPRUSI, BUILSA DISTRICTS TO BENEFIT SADA-MVP PROJECT

A new project dubbed “The SADA-Millennium Village” which has already gone through validation processes and due to be launched in this month could help reduce or eliminate extreme poverty in the West Mamprusi and Builsa Districts of the Northern and Upper East Regions respectively.

Northern Ghana undoubtedly has the greatest percentage of people living in extreme poverty — more than 60% of the population living on less than US$1 a day. The region’s environmental, epidemiological and geographical challenges — including low agriculture productivity, a high disease burden, and high transport costs render villagers most vulnerable to persistent extreme poverty. This means that to collect safe drinking water and firewood for domestic use, people must walk several miles every day.

With these rural communities trapped in a poverty web, they are unable to make the investments in human capital and infrastructure required to achieve self-sustaining economic growth.

Based on these facts, the SADA-MVP which is a five-year development project (October 2011– October 2016) from the UN Millennium Project with financial support worth US$18.1million from DFID, offers a bold innovative model for helping rural communities in the two districts lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

The SADA-MVP is based on the findings of the UN Millennium Project and is led by the science, policy and planning teams at The Earth Institute at Columbia University in South America and the Millennium Promise.

Dr. Joseph Mensah-Homiah, a project supervisor of one of the Millennium Villages Project at Bonsaaso during the validation workshop in Tamale, said simple solutions like providing high-yield seeds, fertilizers, medicines, safe drinking water, and materials to build schools and clinics would effectively combat extreme poverty and nourishing communities into a new age of health and opportunity.

According to him, improved science and technology such as agro-forestry, insecticide-treated bed nets, anti-retroviral drugs, the internet, remote sensing, and geographic information systems enriches this progress.

He told participants at the validation workshop which brought together politicians, members of the academia and those from the NGOs community that the project has put in place measures to take demographic census of the beneficiary communities to deal with migration issues that may occur. Adding, “About 30,000 people in the two districts, would benefit from the pilot SADA-MVP which is expected to increase in subsequent years. The project will add value and complement the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority’s effort in ensuring sustainable livelihood for the people”.

Dr. Mensah-Homiah also explained that the MVP provides a window within the SADA strategy to execute community-driven development actions that will stimulate the modernization of agricultural development; contribute towards DFID’s wealth creation, governance, education, and health targets for the Northern Regions of Ghana; and provide concrete and sustainable benefits to rural communities through good governance and comprehensive MDG-based development policies.

He further noted that the project combine a suite of proven, science-based interventions with the best local knowledge, through community participation and leadership in design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; develops key basic infrastructure at the local level for health, education, water and sanitation and agriculture; and strengthen the capabilities of district health, education, agriculture and rural infrastructure departments to increase and improve service delivery.

Dr. Mensah-Homiah thus, urged strong commitment from the two District Assemblies and Regional Coordinating Councils to enable the project succeed.

The Chief Executive Officer of SADA, Alhaji Dr. Gabriel Seidu Iddi in his remarks disclosed that SADA will start its operations in October 2011 and urged people of the three regions of the north –Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions – to give the programme maximum support to make it successful.

He also appealed to people in the Northern and Upper East Regions most especially communities yet to be hooked to the SADA-MVP to exercise patience, adding that subsequent interventions will help address their developmental challenges.