Ghana: Fish for development project (FIDEP) launched

EU Fish for development Project (FIDEP)

The fish for Development Project (FIDEP) is a forty (40) - month local economic development aimed at promoting sustainable economic growth and development through fish farming. This is district/municipal specific and in this case, Adentan municipality is the focus.

Adentan municipality was established over ten (10) years ago and lies in the north eastern part of Accra and connects to the Eastern and Oti regions of Ghana. Adentan is blessed with some natural water bodies which makes her a perfect choice for this project.

In an interview with Mr Kodwo Ennin Fynn, the Project Coordinator, he summarized the project’s objectives as follows: “The project seek to promote urban fish farming as a means of livelihood within the municipality, creating jobs for youths, women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) along the fish value chain and preserving and protecting the water bodies within the municipality.”

FIDEP is co-funded by the European Union (EU) who is providing 80% of the total cost of the project and the remaining 20% will be taken care of by the implementing partners. The implementers as communicated is led by the Adentan Municipal Assembly and being supported by the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) and the Local Governance Network (LoGNet) and ofcourse in partnership with local and national stakeholders. To enhance the capabilities of the beneficiaries, the project will provide the needed infrastructure and training along the entire value chain to promote the fish industry.

The following were outlined as the targets for the project:

l Employment for 1,200 youths, 600 women, 60 PWDs and 360 men along the fish value chain within the focused municipality.

l Construction of a demonstration centre, fish cages, fish hatchery and a cottage-based processing centre.

l Twenty-two (22) identified and mapped water bodies protected and preserved within the Adentan Municipality.

l Expected annual farmer income of GHS 12,000 by 2022.

In his concluding words, Mr Fynn declares the open for application and entreat all to take advantage of the project. He define the ‘all’ as youth groups, women groups particularly market women and persons with disabilities, existing fish farmers, cold stores and fish mongers, transporters/transport operators, buyers/exporters and many more.

The success of FIDEP will be assessed on five pillars;

i. Support to farmers

ii. Construction of cottage-based processing centre

iii. Planting of trees around the water bodies

iv. Skills training for farmers on production of fingerlings, emerging technologies, record keeping , pre & post harvest management and value addition techniques

v. Formulation and enforcement of by-law

JVE International Promotes AGROECOLOGY

Figure 1: JVE International, Lome - TOGO

In July 2013, I participated in a conference in Accra, Ghana as part of my quest for answers to this. I was one of FARA’s prestigious gathering of agricultural stakeholders, policy-makers, researchers, financial and renowned donor organizations around the world. As a youth, agriculturist and a journalist I found his obligatory because I wanted to be part of the solution.  This was the 6^th Africa Agricultural Science Week (#AASW6). It was christened: “Africa feeding Africa”. This was a programme beyond my expectation. It was heavily attended by professionals, Ministers from the length and breadth of Africa and even heads of states. This already told me how important and sensitive this issue is and the urgency for its solution.

Now here am I with the same concern re-surfacing again three years after. JVE International (www.jve-international.org ) a renowned youth organization based in Africa headquartered in Lomé, Togo revisiting this. How excited to be part of it too. A week long forum sweetly organized to encourage agroecology to the youth in Africa as a paramount approach in solving this menace.

My motivation to writing this article is not to famous or to be recognized but to allow my readers to also appreciate that SDG 2 can only and only be achieve through a consensus effort of all. Take time to ask yourself where you fit in because we all have an invaluable role to play. You will marvel at the extent at which youth actively involved themselves in this. Some already practicing farmers and researchers and others holding up ministerial appointment in government which is very commendable.

On Tuesday, September 27, 2016 Africa’s first youth forum on agroecology was held in a village called Kpele – Tsiko under a serene atmosphere.

Figure 2: A Sessions in the forest

For agriculture to be successful, we need to consider sustainable intensification. I have always been in love with the definition of agriculture by Marcus Terentius Varro – who said: “agriculture is a science, which teaches us which crops are to be planted in each kind of soil, and what operations are to be carried on, in order that the land may produce the highest yields in perpetuity”.

In my opinion, there is little likelihood of significantly more arable land becoming available, yet you and I know we have to approximately double food production by 2050 if we can feed the one billion hungry population. Without getting more production out of our existing, food security will continue to be a yoke very heavy to drop. This would have to be sustainable and very much dependent on human ingenuity.

Figure 3: JVE International local and foreign members cheerful

So what do you also make of this? Lets get involved to free ourselves from food dependency and resource gathering. Trust me the need for ‘Marshall strategies for agroecology’ is now or never. Hope to hear from you soon what you are doing or will be doing in the next days ahead.

We can feed the world! Kudos to JVE International, keep up the good work.

Written by:

Nana Darko

Ghana

darkonana2011@gmail.com

REJOPRAO (Journalist Network for Responsible and Sustainable Fisheries in West Africa)

COFEPROMER: The Success Story

As part of the of the World Fisheries Day Celebration organized by CAOPA and CNPAM in Agadir, Morocco this year and years past, it included a field trip. One of the places I visited was an organization called COFEPROMA - Cooperative feminine des produits de la mer de Douira. Formed on May 30, 2007, this cooperative has a lot of success thanks to it partners  being; GTZ, INDH, SEO/Birdlife, Association Douira pour le Development, MCC-USA, Unite Genre et Development and many others. There are currently twenty (22) active members operating this cooperative. These are all women of varied ages coming from different background but with one goal and ambition. Six out of the group form the executive board running the day to day activities.

REJOPRAO had the opportunity to interview Madam Fatima Atanane who is currently serving as the public relations officer for the cooperation. In an exclusive interview that she granted, she mentioned the main objectives of their organization.

Photo Credit: N. Darko

 

 

 

 

She mentioned them as follows:

1.  Support the sustainable management and exploitation of marine products has Douira, through the strengthening of technical and organizational capacities of adherents.
2. Promoting sustainable management of natural resources of the coast through the replacement of firewood by the gas in the process of treatment and recovery of marine products, the tracking study of the state of the biomass and the awareness mussel pickers. 
3. Value to the products of the sea through the construction and equipment of a fresh mussel recovery unit and dried, the elaboration of a quality manual and processes sheets and promoting cooperative and its products. 

After introducing us to the President of the cooperative, she became our tour guide taking us through the distinctive steps that the raw material go through before we get our final packaged product. "In all we do here, hygiene is paramount" she said. 

Telling us about the processing she also mentioned that routing of the freshly harvested mussels is considered to in order to minimize its contamination. When received at the unit, it is first weighed and refrigerated at temperatures between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius. When enough volume has been acquired it is then retrieved washed and graded. There after grits attached are removed and baked at 100 degrees Celsius in special pans (these have in them sieves that makes it easy for separation) for easy removal of the husk - this is done using simple tools like knife on a working board. It is then soaked in a container filled with water as a pre-drying process. The mussels are dried naturally at the roof of the unit for a maximum of 72 hours depending on the prevailing weather conditions after which they are sent for the last stage which is the vacuum packaging. This takes out all the air trapped in the packaging polythene bag (this helps in the improvement of shelf life -it takes over 6 months before expiration). Now the packs are sent back to another cooling chamber for storage and ready for distribution.

Photo Credit: N. Darko

Photo Credit: N. Darko

The cooperative since its inception in 2007 has won three awards for the good work they are doing in their community. Women involve now have their livelihood improved. The job created bring back some income they use in supporting their families. One admitted she has never regretted being part of the cooperative. The total revenue generated from the sale is saved at the bank and used in the purchase of materials, tools and equipment in case some breakdown or get worn out. Some amount is set aside and made available to the members for credit anytime they need financial assistance.

Since the processing unit is quite a distance away from the market areas, we were curious to know how they distribute the finished product so we asked Madam Fatima. Her response; "Some of the products are bought by visitors, others also place orders and they are supplied and we have a TOYOTA pick-up with refrigeration system that is also used sometime to market our products". 

The cooperative is independent and making good progress. They operate on their own and currently training more and more women to be part of the cooperative. Again a highlight of why our women are so invaluable when it comes to this fishing value chain. Their role in the development our economies in Africa and the world at large is paramount. Like I always say lets encourage all to be part of this particularly our youth. COFEPROMA is a success, others too can make it. Encouragement and self-motivation the key.


Written by: Nana Darko 

WOMEN: Role-players in artisanal fisheries

Women waiting patiently at the shore for the catch

I love fish ... Do you? Am moved to share with you an interesting role played by women in the artisanal fisheries sector in Ghana, West Africa, Africa and the world as a whole. Well motivated after REJOPRAO's (Network of Journalists for Responsible and Sustainable Fisheries in West Africa) General Assembly and their participation in CAOPA's (African Confederation of Professional Artisanal Fishing Organisations) seminar both organised in Saly-Portudal, Senegal - not a day passes without talking about women in this sector. 

Women in the thick of affairs; Offloading catch from canoes

Admittedly, this area of agriculture is very technical making it very difficult for some well acclaimed journalists to report and educate the general public. The problems and constraints in the sector has also been overlooked. As a devout member of this network (REJOPRAO), I cannot hold anything back. I am through this piece asking that the most active and vibrant members of the artisanal fisheries value chain are applauded and hailed - Our WOMEN. The pictures says it all.

Women: valuation, pricing and purchasing time

The Women really deserve to be celebrated (The World Women's Day). Guinea Bissau the venue for this year's celebration is christened; ''Equity for women is progress for all''. Personally this theme is fitting and very thought provoking. Considering this sector, I would like to discuss only one of the many challenges - financing. There are many financial institutions operating in various countries but how will you rate their support to the women in this area? Equity does not seem to exist in their dictionary. Financial facility are extended to more men than women. They are sidelined because of their inability to provide collaterals. These are very important variable in the value chain. 

Preparing the fish for processing

During the seminar, presentations from WARI and Bank of Africa (BoA) sounded so promising. BoA, Senegal has a fund already signed to support women co-operatives in Senegal we look forward that other financial institutions will emulate this and extend to our women the necessary support so their livelihoods and that of their families are improved. WARI can also make the transaction of their businesses very simple and smooth. 

Woman happily smoking fish

Marketing of the processed fish

Grandmothers, mothers, sisters, wives, daughters... we love you all and cherish your contribution.

By Nana Darko, Ghana

AFAP: Smallholder's Access to Fertilizer Video animation Launch

Credit: http://www.ifdc.org

The African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership, together with the International Fertilizer industry Association (IFA), joined by six other agricultural development partner organizations launched a video animation promoting the importance of  access to fertilizer by African smallholder farmers to boost yields and reduce rural poverty.

The video, launched during the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Ethiopia is a call to African Leaders to note and address the bottlenecks that continue to throttle expanded fertilizer use by smallholder farmers.

African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Rhoda Peace Tumussiime said that the challenges found along the fertilizer value chain are multi-dimensional and should be addressed holistically. 

“The issue of smallholder farmers’ access to fertilizer has several dimensions: economic accessibility, physical accessibility, and always forgotten but critical is knowledge accessibility,” Tumussime said.

The video campaign called for six key actions to help the African continent address some key access to fertilizer challenges, namely:

1. Facilitate local production and imports of fertilizers
2. Provide better access to credit, finance and insurance
3. Invest in infrastructure which connects farmers to input and output markets
4. Develop mobile technologies
5. Train more extension workers to work with farmers
6. Disseminate best practices based on the integration of both organic and mineral nutrients and balanced fertilization, such as the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Framework and Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) 

Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi , AFAP’s Board Chairman during the launch said, “Next year we should be celebrating 50kg/per hectare as per the commitments made in the Abuja declaration, however, numbers  remain startlingly low--on average, smallholder farmers use less that 10 kg of Fertilizer per hectare, a tenth of the global average.”

According to Charlotte Hebebrand, IFA Director General, “Fertilizer use in Africa remains startlingly low compared to other regions, with average use at around 10 kg/ha, a tenth of the global average.” As the voice of the global fertilizer industry, IFA aims to raise awareness on fertilizer’s role in reducing the yield gap and driving African agricultural development.

African leaders have pledged in the 2006 Abuja Declaration to bridge this gap and increase fertilizer use to 50 kg/ha by 2015. However, very few countries have met this goal.

 “Developing agri-inputs supply chains in Africa,” said Commissioner Tumusiime, “is key to increasing the productivity and competitiveness of agro-food systems. Realizing the potential for agricultural transformation to yield broad-based prosperity and help extricate a majority of African people, especially youth and women, from poverty will require access to such inputs but also many other investments.”

Closing the session, Dr Namanga Ngongi said AFAP would remain committed to working with industry partners, and exhausting different platforms to spread the message of ‘increased fertilizer use leads to increased yields and healthy crops.”

Watch the Video by clicking on the link: IFA Video on Smallholder farmers access to Fertilizers in Africa

SOURCE: AFAP News

Fighting Hunger through Farmer Field Schools (FFS)

How much do you know about Farmer Field Schools

Test your knowledge and that of your friends

03 Sep 2014 - Farmer field schools (FFS) are essentially schools without walls that introduce new technological innovations while building on indigenous knowledge. In FFS, farmers are the experts.

Key features and principles of the FFS approach – TRUE or FALSE?

The FFS approach allows farmers to learn through testing changes in a controlled, group-based environment

TRUE:  Discovery-based learning is an essential part of the FFS as it helps participants to develop a feeling of ownership and to gain the confidence that they are able to reproduce the activities and results on their own.

In FFS, the classroom is the learning ground

FALSE: The field, herd or the landscape is the main learning ground, around which FFS activities are organized. Farmers learn directly from what they observe, collect and experience in their surroundings. They produce their own learning materials (drawings, etc.) based on their observations and experiences.

Trainers decide the FFS curriculum and what is relevant for the farmers to learn

FALSE: It is the farmers who decide what is relevant to them and what they want the FFS to address in their curriculum. This ensures that the information is relevant and tailored to the participants’ actual needs.

FFS training is based on the natural cycle of the study subject

TRUE: This allows farmers to discuss and observe aspects in the field in parallel with what is going on in their own fields, such as learning about weeding which takes place during weeding time.

In FFS the focus is on assimilating information regarding new technology options

FALSE: In FFS the focus is on developing skills and competences rather than assimilating information regarding new technology options. It refers to understanding the basic science behind various aspects of the agro ecosystem to enable farmers to carry out their own innovation process, i.e. understand the ‘why‘ behind the ‘how‘.

To succeed with FFS practices, learners have to forget their way of doing things

FALSE: The basic assumption of FFS is that learning is always rooted in prior experience, which is unique to each person, and that any attempt to promote new learning must take into account experience in some way.

Innovation and experimentation are vital components of the FFS process

TRUE:  Innovation and experimentation offer opportunities for learning and for building capacity among farmers to adapt continually and improve the way they manage their resources. Group managed trials, whether crop – or livestock-based form the nucleus of the FFS learning because the site of the trials usually becomes the meeting point and learning space of the group.

All FFS follow the same systematic training process

TRUE:  The cornerstone is to observe and analyze the field experimental activities. Every FFS includes at least three activities: agro-ecosystem analysis (AESA), a ‘group dynamic activity’ and a ‘topic of the day.’ The group dynamic activity leads towards team building and organizing skills while the ‘topic of the day’ usually includes technical information. It normally relates to a farming-related topic but could also include any other subject of concern to the group members. 

Source: FAO - UN

COCOA: Ghana first again? Part 1

Take note, this is a question. Maybe to start with, lets go through some statistics I chanced on and compare with our present day Ghana.

African Map locating GHANA

Demographics

Ghana is the 12th country of Africa with a population of 24,2 million inhabitants in 2012.

52% of the population is living in urban areas and 17% in urban areas of more than 1 million inhabitants.

Main Economic Activities

Ghana is the 11th economy in Africa and the 2nd in West Africa after Nigeria with a GDP of US$ 40 billion in 2012.

The economy has a large agricultural sector. Production and exports of cocoa are the traditional activities. Agriculture still represents 29,9% of GDP. The commercial exploration of oil since the 2010′s is changing the country economy rapidly. Large inflows of foreign investments and a windfall in government income is underway.

Harvested Ghanaian Cocoa Beans

Ghana is a lower middle income country with GDP per capita of 1 600 USD in 2012 (17th Africa) and population living below the poverty line is decreasing from 28,5% in 2006 to ~26% in 2012 (World Bank Estimation).

Main Companies

• Produce Buying Company Limited (PBC) – Cocoa bean trade
• Enterprise Life Insurance Company Ltd – Insurance
• Intercontinental Bank Ghana Ltd – Banking
• Ashanti Goldfields Company – Gold Mining
• Blu Skies – Juice Producer
• Regimanuel Gray – Real Estate Developer

Latest Economic Developments

The trade balance of Ghana : exports recently increased in value with the commercial exploitation of oil resources in 2011. Cocoa represents in 2011, 22% of total exports, while gold and oil respectively represent 37% and 22% of total exports. Imports are also increasing fast in the same period mostly in equipment goods.

In 2011, various sectors grew significantly: the oil sector jumped to 225,4%. Construction sector grew 17%, electricity 13,7% and information and communication 10,5%. GDP was boosted by the new oil production (12% average growth during) 2006-2012. For 2012-2017 it is expected to grow at 10%.

Source: Sagaci Research

How did Ghana loose the top spot for Cocoa production to Cote D'Ivoire? How can she regain it? I am certain that its youth will have a part to play if this can be successful. Lets support to make this a reality. See you during the celebration party when the new stats get published by FAO.