Category: General

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has reemphasized its caution to the government that the commercialisation Genetically Modified (GM) products in Ghana, would lead to extinction of the country’s indigenous seeds and food insecurity.

It would also throw smallholder farmers out of business.

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) recently approved the commercialisation of 14 new varieties of GM products in maize and soya beans, however, the farmers have kicked against the move to promote the agenda of the multinational seed companies.

However, has reiterated its stance against the government’s interest to approve GM products, saying: ‘We reject that, particularly permit given by the NBA for some people to bring GM products.’

Speaking at the Inaugural Peasant Farmers Day Celebration held at Navrongo in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, Mr Wepia Awal Adugwala, President, PFAG, said the move would not only lead to the loss of indigenous seed varieties but would lead to th
e country relying on foreign companies for seeds.

‘We cannot sit in Ghana and allow foreign companies to control the seeds that we grow in this country…so, we reject that, particularly permit given by the NBA for some people to bring GM products,’ he said.

The President explained that the various indigenous seeds in Ghana were some of the high quality and healthier seeds across Africa and there was the need to invest strategically to improve those seeds instead of importing GM products which had the tendency to destroy the agriculture sector.

‘We are saying that whatever support the government has for us, it should be directed to our scientists in Ghana like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) that can breed our traditional varieties and improve upon them for our farmers to grow the seeds so that we the indigenous farmers will continuous to have control of what we eat and not to be determined by anybody,’ he added.

Mr Adugwala noted that challenges of the agriculture sector especiall
y those adversely affecting the smallholder farmers were not of the varieties but other challenges including lack of market for produce, high cost of production due to increase in prices of inputs and mechanisation services, among others.

He said even though the smallholder farmers had not received any form of support from the government since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic particularly in 2021 which led to global drop in the production of fertilizer, the farmers on their own had been able to produce enough to feed the country.

The President insisted that instead of granting permission for GM products to be commercialised in Ghana, the government should create viable markets for food produced locally to keep the farmers in business.

‘If you look at the last farming season for instance, the smallholders have been able to produce enough rice and maize but there is no market for them and right now our farmers are depending on Togolese and Burkinabes to come inside the country and buy the maize,’ he la
mented.

Dr Charles Nyaaba, Chief Executive Officer, Akuafo Nketewa, Business Unit of the PFAG, noted that most of the smallholder farmers that the government flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs was meant for, did not benefit from the project due to unfair distribution.

He said it was expected that the Planting for Food and Jobs phase II would directly benefit the smallholder farmers and apart from the inputs, there should be credit opportunities for farmers to access to increase productivity.

The celebration was organised by the PFAG in collaboration with the Akuafo Nketewa and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the theme; ‘deepening the role of smallholder farmers in promoting food and nutrition security in the midst of climate change and global crisis.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

A total of 28 males in the Central Region, representing 82 per cent, and six females, representing 18 per cent, were killed by road crashes from January to March 2024.

The figure reveals an approximate ratio of 1:5, meaning that one female to five males are killed in every road crashes, confirming a similar trend in recent past of higher road fatalities of males than females.

Similarly, two people, being six per cent of people killed in road crashes, were below 18 years, whilst 32, representing 94 per cent, were adults above 18 years.

That indicates that for every 16 adults above 18-years killed, a child below 18-years also dies, revealing relatively high road traffic death ratio of 16:1 for adults than for children.

This is partly due to the high risk of exposure of adults and males to traffic incidences as compared to children, Mrs Linda Affotey-Annang, the Central Regional Head, National Road Safety Authority, told the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast on Friday.

A total of 245 road traffic crashes, re
sulting in 410 injuries and 34 deaths, were reported as against 231 crashes, 33 injuries and 42 deaths recorded over the same period last year.

The figures represent a 6.1 per cent increase in road crashes, 78.8 per cent increase in injuries and a 19.0 per cent reduction in deaths.

The crashes involved 387 vehicles of all categories; private, commercial, motorbikes, or cycles and 476 casualties, 66 fatalities or deaths and 410 injuries.

Of the reported cases, vehicles involved, people injured and pedestrian knockdowns, respectively increased by 6.06, 1.84, 8.75 and 53.49 per cent, but people killed decreased by 19.05 per cent when compared to the same period of 2024.

On monthly distributions of crashes, injuries and deaths, Mrs Affotey- Annang said the month of March recorded the highest number of crashes of 101 whilst February recorded the least number of 52.

For injuries, January recorded the highest of 161 whilst March had the least; 95.

The rate of decrease for deaths in 2024 was approximately 3.5 p
er month compared to the 1.5 decrease per month for 2023.

Also, a total of 66 pedestrians were knocked down, representing an increase of 53.49 per cent as against 43 knockdowns in 2023.

To understand the enormousness of the crashes, she explained that road traffic accidents had been categorized under fatal, serious or minor depending on the severity.

‘Fatal crashes are crashes which have resulted in the death of at least one person or more within 30 days of the crash, serious crashes are crashes, which have resulted in a serious injury of at least one person, leading to hospitalisation for at least 24 hours.’

‘Minor crashes are those resulting in a minor injury of at least one person, hospitalised for less than 24 hours or no injuries at all,’ she said.

She repeated the Authority’s resolve to inducing positive behavioural change among road users for them to observe and advocate compliance of road traffic regulations.

Also, road users must support the authority and other stakeholders and report traffic i
nfractions as a collective responsibility.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Members of the Local Accountability Network (LANet) of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) are advocating for the continuation of a project which seeks to monitor the implementation of audit recommendations in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

They argued that, despite challenges impeding their efforts to monitor the implementation of recommendations of the Auditor General (AG) accompanying its annual reports of the Assemblies, discontinuing the project would leave room for more infractions.

The project dubbed, ‘Building Evidence for Increased Accountability in Ghana through a Multi-Stakeholder Accountability Initiative’, seeks to deepen accountability in local governance by empowering members of the LANet to monitor implementation of audit recommendations in the Assemblies.

It is being implemented by Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) with funding from the Hewlett Foundation.

At an evaluation meeting to take stock of the two-year project, which is ending in September, membe
rs of the LANet insisted that it was important to continue monitoring audit recommendations to keep duty bearers on their toes irrespective of their uncooperative nature.

The meeting was to discuss the progress made so far, success stories, and challenges confronting members in following up on audit recommendations.

Armed with the AG’s audit recommendations, members of LANet engages duty bearers on steps being taken to implement the recommendations to ensure proper accountability for public funds entrusted to them.

Members at the meeting, however, recounted how they struggled to get the attention of designated officers to respond to their enquiries.

To cure the problem, some members suggested a bottom up approach from the implementers of the project by engaging authorities at national and regional levels on the activities of LANet so that they would be given some recognition at the local level.

Mr Samuel Harrison Cudjoe, Programmes Officer, GACC, said LANet had made progress under the project, having est
ablished a working relationship with the KMA, and stressed the need to grow that relationship further.

‘For any relationship to stand, it is a matter of trust and openness so I would encourage both the KMA and the LANet to be opened to each other to build trust.

He said GACC was satisfied with the work done so far by LANet and happy that members were pushing for continuation of follow ups on audit recommendations to promote accountability in local governance.

The challenges raised by the LANet, according to him, would enable GACC review its working processes to make the job easier for its partners.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Thomas Fynn, a renowned Ghanaian photographer and Executive Director, FYNNexhibits, has asked parents and teachers to encourage photography among children.

He noted that, cultivating the love for photography in children would enable them to develop photography skills rapidly and become more proficient and masterful in their adult years.

He noted at times, some parents discouraged their children from going into photography because the profession was not lucrative.

He stressed, however, that photography could produce a great deal of profit once it was done well.

‘As a parent, you should study your children to see what they like best. If you realise that your child is interested in taking photos, you should give that child your blessings and help him or her to develop the skills,’ Mr Fynn said.

The Executive Director made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a five-day photographic exhibitions held from April 22 to 26 in Accra.

The event, held on the theme: ‘Celebrati
on of Ghanaian faces, African Culture and Heritage,’ was organised by Mr Fynn in collaboration with Thomas Lamb, a photographer based in the United States, and the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG).

Mr Fynn said parents who had the means could get affordable cameras for their children to practise and sharpen their senses in photo taking.

‘Parents could also introduce their children to mentors for coaching and guidance,’ he noted.

He added that children having mobile phones should be taught to effectively use the camera features in photo taking and editing.

Mr Fynn said schools also had an important role to play in nurturing children’s love for photography.

‘Teachers should regularly send their students to exhibitions, photo museums and other places of art collections to awaken students’ imagination and kindle in them the love for photography,’ Mr Fynn said.

He added that schools could bring in professional photographers and other photography teachers to take students through
the practical aspects of photo taking.

He said they could also partner corporate bodies such as camera manufacturing companies to sponsor them with cameras that students could use to build their photography skills.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Telecel Ghana, has officially announced its presence in the Ashanti region with a promise to reshape the telecommunications landscape in the region.

The company said after successful takeover of Vodafone Ghana as part of the ultimate phase in the evolution of telecommunication network, it will set new standards of excellence and innovation to transform the telecommunication industry.

Madam Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), speaking at an event to officially introduce the Company in Kumasi, explained that Ghana Telecom had existed in Ghana since 1974 but had different investors at point in time for the company.

‘Now our new partner is Telecel,’ and we believe Kumasi is also central and core to the way we do business, and we are here to unveil the Telecel brand to you.’

She explained that in the month of March 2024, Telecel Ghana was out-doored to the whole of Ghana in the capital city, Accra.

Madam Obo-Nai indicated that, the brand was a vibrant and energetic one which the government of Gh
ana owned about 30 percent shares in the business and called on Ghanaians to continue supporting and subscribing to their products for their smooth run.

With the assistance of the new partners, she said all challenges facing the network would be fixed to help offer advanced digital services.

She said the company through its Foundation would continue with the cutting-edge corporate social responsibility programmes which encompassed healthcare, education, water, sanitation, and social inclusion.

Mr. Samuel Pyne, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, said by virtue of the central location, the Ashanti region offered itself as a nerve center for every industry that existed in the country and by extension, telecommunication thrived because every sector depended on it to make business faster.

He indicated that Telecel Ghana was, therefore, at the right place to do business.

He said Ashanti was characterized by a diverse economic landscape including gold mining, agriculture, trading and commerce, manufacturing,
tourism, adding that, these economic activities contributed significantly to the region’s development and played a vital role in Ghana’s economy.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has identified six priority areas to drive the operationalisation of its Global Strategy in water management research in West and Central Africa.

These priorities are building resilient agri-food systems against climate change, reducing risks from droughts, floods, and compounding systems water risks, and enabling circular water and food economy innovations.

The rest are leveraging water for resilience in fragile and conflict-affected settings, strengthening gender equity in water resources utilization and management, and supporting water infrastructure and allocation decisions.

Dr Olufunke Cofie, IWMI West Africa Regional

Representative, told the Ghana News Agency that the six priorities were crucial and would influence its global strategy.

Dr Cofie was speaking in an interview during a Regional Stakeholder Consultation on IWMI’s Strategic Priorities on Transforming Water Systems for a Sustainable Future in West and Central Africa in Accra.

The event
was to operationalise IWMI’s global strategy through the development of a regional strategy roadmap, codesign and develop mechanism for Research for Development, jointly identify and pursue resource mobilisation opportunities and strengthen networks and future.

She said it was important to have a strategy to guide directions of water management to ensure stakeholders remain focused on their operations.

Dr Cofie said, ‘if strategies are not in place, they will not be able to define their priorities and these Global Strategy was based on Regional Dialogues.’

She said it was to draw an action plan on how they would operationalize the strategy through clearly defined priorities that they agreed upon.

Dr Mark Smith, the Director-General of IWMI, said the strategy had been developed for operationalisation for the next seven years to help address water management challenges.

He said it was to help IWMI’s partners and the countries they work in to become water-secured and manage water better.

The Director-Gener
al said the strategy was to address water risk or drought, flood, and women inequality.

He said, ‘without effective water management, we can easily lose the gains made regarding growth and development.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

A total of 136 smallholder farmers and aggregators have been recognised at the Inaugural Peasant Farmers Day celebration held at Navrongo in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region for contributing significantly to the food basket of the country.

The awardees received prizes ranging from farm inputs to home appliances including fridges, television sets, bags of fertilizer, knapsack sprayers, tarpaulin, insecticides, and cash.

It was organised by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), in collaboration with the Akuafo Nketewa Company Limited, a business unit under PFAG, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).

It was themed: ‘Deepening the role of smallholder farmers in promoting food and nutrition security in the midst of climate change and global crises’.

Dr Charles Nyaaba, the Chief Executive Officer, Akuafo Nketewa Company Limited, explained that more than 80 percent of the food consumed in Ghana was produced by peasant farmers, however, their efforts were hardly rec
ognised.

Most of them were mostly left out of the government’s annual farmers’ day celebration despite their immense contribution, he said, and that the maiden awards scheme was to motivate and attract more people into farming.

‘Peasant farmers are responsible for all the raw materials we get for industries and export but in terms of reward, they are usually ignored,’ he noted.

‘I say this because most of the smallholder farmers are in the hinterlands and even travelling to the nearest district offices of department of Agriculture to access extension services and information is a problem.’

‘But because we work with them and they are our members we need to recognise some of these people’.

As part of creating a support system for the smallholder farmers, a Credit Union was launched to provide loans for them to engage and improve upon their business.

Dr Nyaaba noted that access to finance from the banks had always been a challenge for smallholder farmers and the support from government was unsustainable, s
caring youth and women from continuing or venturing into farming.

‘With this Farmer Cooperative Union, the farmer can contribute some amount and whenever that farmer needs financial support, can access it.’

‘The thinking is to establish the farmer cooperative union in the then 10 regions and form our own bank called the farmers bank.’

The occasion also saw the launch of a pension scheme to support the smallholder farmers in their old age.

Mr Wepia Awal Adugwala, President, PFAG, noted that climate change was hitting hard at the agriculture sector and posed significant threat to Ghana’s food security, and underscored the urgent need for adaptive agriculture.

He explained that apart from supporting smallholder farmers with subsidised farm inputs, improved seeds, and mechanisation services to reduce cost of food production, there was the need for government to invest in irrigation to encourage all year-round farming.

Mr Charles Ayuebono Adam, the Principal Agriculture Economist in charge of Policy, Plannin
g, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, MoFA, said unlike the phase one of the planting for food and jobs, which was subsidy based, the second phase was input-credit base and encouraged the farmers to register to benefit from the programme.

Ms Christina Abaadaa, who won the best female sorghum producer, urged the government to support peasant farmers, especially the women, with tractors services, adding that: ‘anytime we are competing with men for tractor services, we don’t get it’.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Four unions under the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of Ghana in the Central Region in collaboration with Agyare Realty Limited, a real estate company, have held a workshop on property acquisition for their members.

The session sensitised the workers on the importance of acquiring property before retirement and how to procure genuine property without losing their investments.

The participating workers numbering about 100, were drawn from the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) and the Local Government Service.

The real estate company, as part of the collaboration, also offered to sell plots of lands to the members of the unions and their associates on instalment basis over a period of 48 months.

Mr Stephen Kwame Mensah, Regional Industrial Relations Officer, Health Services Workers Union of PSWU, observed that many public sector workers could not acquire property before retirement due to their meagre salaries.

‘And even when you have your own money to pay fo
r the land, sometimes you are faced with issues of land guards and unnecessary litigations,’ he said.

The partnership was therefore to offer innovative assistance, particularly to public sector workers to get their own property at affordable rates with convenience.

‘The Health Services Workers’ Union has already taken the lead and the process has started, going for it in our numbers will help beat the price rate of the land down,’ Mr Mensah said.

Mr Stephen Ofosu Agyare, Chairman of Agyare Realty Limited, maintained that it was better to buy land earlier, than to wait till one is ready to build, given the perpetual increase in land prices.

He, however, cautioned the public to be vigilant when purchasing land by following all legal procedures and buying from the right sources.

He explained that aside from real estate companies, it was safer to buy land from families or stools instead of individuals to avoid falling victim to scammers.

He acknowledged that the salaries of public sector workers were meagre
but insisted that one did not need huge sums of money to acquire property.

‘We believe that with a good payment structure and a good opportunity, you can have a property and buy it with ease,’ he stressed.

Mr Agyare expressed the company’s commitment to helping workers secure litigation-free property to give them a comfortable retirement.

‘We want to make sure that we help our clients get affordable litigation-free lands with flexible payment structure taking into consideration, our salaries, gathering money to buy property is quite challenging.

‘If you are a government worker, a structure like this is something that you should always be opting for,’ he encouraged.

Source: Ghana News Agency