Tuesday, December 05, 2017
‘Evaluate governance benefit of new ministries’
‘Evaluate governance benefit of new ministries’: ‘Evaluate governance benefit of new ministries’
Stabilisation Fund capped at US$300m
Stabilisation Fund capped at US$300m: Stabilisation Fund capped at US$300m
GUTA asks govt to address challenges in the trade sector
GUTA asks govt to address challenges in the trade sector: GUTA asks govt to address challenges in the trade sector
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
2018 Budget: Nursing, teacher trainees to get GH₵480m - Graphic Online
2018 Budget: Nursing, teacher trainees to get GH₵480m - Graphic Online: Nursing, teacher trainee allowances to get GH₵480m
SADA boss urges support for agric in savanna zone - Graphic Online
SADA boss urges support for agric in savanna zone - Graphic Online: SADA boss urges support for agric in savanna zone
2018 Budget: Ken to request approval for GH¢60.8bn as total expenditure - Graphic Online
2018 Budget: Ken to request approval for GH¢60.8bn as total expenditure - Graphic Online: 2018 Budget: Ken to request approval for GH¢60.8bn as total expenditure - Graphic Online
https://graphicbusinessonline.com/index.php/govt-business/185-evaluate-governance-benefit-of-new-ministries
An economist, Dr John Gartchie Gatsi, has suggested an objective
appraisal of the additional ministries and sectors that were created by
the government to assess whether they have delivered any benefits to
governance in the country.
‘Evaluate governance benefit of new ministries’ - Graphic Online
‘Evaluate governance benefit of new ministries’ - Graphic Online: ‘Evaluate governance benefit of new ministries’
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
PIAC wants value for money audit on oil projects
The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has recommended a forensic audit of all oil-funded projects to assess the extent of abuse of funding projects with petroleum revenue.
A member of PIAC, the committee with oversight responsibility over the prudent management of petroleum revenues, Dr Steve Manteaw, in an interview said some of the misappropriation of oil money earmarked for projects were dire.
"We need to look at all projects funded with oil money since 2011 and where there have been clear cases of abuse, the law must take its course," he said.
It has emerged that some projects purported or reported to have been funded with oil revenue are either non-existent or incomplete.
A visit by the PIAC, the GIZ and the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) to some oil money projects in the Eastern Region revealed that a science resource centre at the Begoro Senior High School (SHS) in the Upper Manya Krobo District captured as rehabilitated with oil money had not been completed.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Daniel Mensah, said the centre had been completely out of use since 2011 after the contractor removed windows, doors and cast first phase of floor terrazzo and abandoned the project.
"The school wasn't involved at any stage in awarding the contract. The absence of a science lab is making the teaching and learning of science difficult," he said.
The project
Officials at the district assembly also denied knowledge of the award of such a contract.
The contract sum was GH¢130,152.96 for completion in four months.
Petroleum revenue component in the amount was GH¢52,765.24.
It is ,however, unclear if the contractor was paid or not.
Challenges /Impact
The science resource centre served other SHS in the district.
The school has put few materials in one classroom for theory. Some prospective science students, upon seeing the situation either apply for transfer to other schools or change their courses.
The number of science students has dropped from about 70 to about 32 during admission.
A student, Bright Commey, appealed to the Member of Parliament for the area and the government to help restore the science resource centre to its past glory.
-We need to look at all projects funded with oil money since 2011 and where there have been clear cases of abuse, the law must take its course.
-The PIAC has an additional public oversight to the implementation of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) and to provide a platform for public debate on spending of oil money.
A member of PIAC, the committee with oversight responsibility over the prudent management of petroleum revenues, Dr Steve Manteaw, in an interview said some of the misappropriation of oil money earmarked for projects were dire.
"We need to look at all projects funded with oil money since 2011 and where there have been clear cases of abuse, the law must take its course," he said.
It has emerged that some projects purported or reported to have been funded with oil revenue are either non-existent or incomplete.
A visit by the PIAC, the GIZ and the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) to some oil money projects in the Eastern Region revealed that a science resource centre at the Begoro Senior High School (SHS) in the Upper Manya Krobo District captured as rehabilitated with oil money had not been completed.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Daniel Mensah, said the centre had been completely out of use since 2011 after the contractor removed windows, doors and cast first phase of floor terrazzo and abandoned the project.
"The school wasn't involved at any stage in awarding the contract. The absence of a science lab is making the teaching and learning of science difficult," he said.
The project
Officials at the district assembly also denied knowledge of the award of such a contract.
The contract sum was GH¢130,152.96 for completion in four months.
Petroleum revenue component in the amount was GH¢52,765.24.
It is ,however, unclear if the contractor was paid or not.
Challenges /Impact
The science resource centre served other SHS in the district.
The school has put few materials in one classroom for theory. Some prospective science students, upon seeing the situation either apply for transfer to other schools or change their courses.
The number of science students has dropped from about 70 to about 32 during admission.
A student, Bright Commey, appealed to the Member of Parliament for the area and the government to help restore the science resource centre to its past glory.
-We need to look at all projects funded with oil money since 2011 and where there have been clear cases of abuse, the law must take its course.
-The PIAC has an additional public oversight to the implementation of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) and to provide a platform for public debate on spending of oil money.
Delayed payments stall the timely completion of road projects
A road expert has attributed the challenges with the timely completion of road projects in the country to the delay in payment.
The Regional Maintenance Manager of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), Eastern Region, Mr Emmanuel Laryea Oddai, said contractors always had to wait for a long time before they were paid, and that had led to some of the road problems.
"Cost overruns run through road projects. If this is addressed, then the engineer can also be held accountable for whatever he is supervising," he said during a project site visit to the Anyinam-Kwabeng-Akropong road.
The visit was under the auspices of the GIZ, the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) and the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ).
Mr Laryea said the delay in payments resulted in the upward review of cost of road projects as a result of rising costs of materials.
"If contractors are paid early enough, it will help them go by their programmes and we can also hold them to task," he said.
A member of PIAC, Dr Steve Manteaw, said although the road fund was a dedicated source for maintenance of roads, it had not served its purpose.
"Unfortunately, the minister of Finance collects the money and doesn't pay into the fund, so it is always in arrears, causing delay," he stated.
The projects
The Anyinam-Kwabeng-Akropong is a 10-kilometre road maintenance project awarded in 2012 but actual work started in 2014.
Supervisors say it is about 75 per cent complete and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
It is a Government of Ghana (GoG)-funded project with an original contract sum of GH¢2,244,370 million and the total certified amount to date is GH¢2,216,757 million.
The team also inspected the partial reconstruction of the 23.3-kilometre Odumase-Oterkpolu road. The project was about 80 per cent complete. The original contract amount was GH¢44,005,504.33 but the total certified amount to date is GH¢32,002,436.43.
“Cost overruns run through road projects. If this is addressed, then the engineer can also be held accountable for whatever he is supervising.”
The Regional Maintenance Manager of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), Eastern Region, Mr Emmanuel Laryea Oddai, said contractors always had to wait for a long time before they were paid, and that had led to some of the road problems.
"Cost overruns run through road projects. If this is addressed, then the engineer can also be held accountable for whatever he is supervising," he said during a project site visit to the Anyinam-Kwabeng-Akropong road.
The visit was under the auspices of the GIZ, the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) and the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ).
Mr Laryea said the delay in payments resulted in the upward review of cost of road projects as a result of rising costs of materials.
"If contractors are paid early enough, it will help them go by their programmes and we can also hold them to task," he said.
A member of PIAC, Dr Steve Manteaw, said although the road fund was a dedicated source for maintenance of roads, it had not served its purpose.
"Unfortunately, the minister of Finance collects the money and doesn't pay into the fund, so it is always in arrears, causing delay," he stated.
The projects
The Anyinam-Kwabeng-Akropong is a 10-kilometre road maintenance project awarded in 2012 but actual work started in 2014.
Supervisors say it is about 75 per cent complete and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
It is a Government of Ghana (GoG)-funded project with an original contract sum of GH¢2,244,370 million and the total certified amount to date is GH¢2,216,757 million.
The team also inspected the partial reconstruction of the 23.3-kilometre Odumase-Oterkpolu road. The project was about 80 per cent complete. The original contract amount was GH¢44,005,504.33 but the total certified amount to date is GH¢32,002,436.43.
“Cost overruns run through road projects. If this is addressed, then the engineer can also be held accountable for whatever he is supervising.”
Thursday, October 05, 2017
$600m Needed annually to undertake more road projects
https://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/600m-needed-annually-to-undertake-more-road-projects.html
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Ghana news: Be vigilant on SSNIT’s operations- Lawyer tasks contributors - Graphic Online
Ghana news: Be vigilant on SSNIT’s operations- Lawyer tasks contributors - Graphic Online: Be vigilant on SSNIT’s operations- Lawyer tasks contributors
Ghana news: Be vigilant on SSNIT’s operations- Lawyer tasks contributors - Graphic Online
Ghana news: Be vigilant on SSNIT’s operations- Lawyer tasks contributors - Graphic Online: Be vigilant on SSNIT’s operations- Lawyer tasks contributors
Ghana news: Trouble at SSNIT...Contributors worried over pension scheme - Graphic Online
Ghana news: Trouble at SSNIT...Contributors worried over pension scheme - Graphic Online: Trouble at SSNIT...Contributors worried over pension scheme
Ghana news: Sanction officials who misuse oil revenue - PIAC - Graphic Online
Ghana news: Sanction officials who misuse oil revenue - PIAC - Graphic Online: Participants in a public forum on the management of petroleum revenues have strongly recommended penalties for those who divert oil revenue for other purposes.
Ghana news: Farmers at Dawa benefit from rehabiliatted dam - Graphic Online
Ghana news: Farmers at Dawa benefit from rehabiliatted dam - Graphic Online: Farmers at Dawa benefit from rehabiliatted dam
Wednesday, September 06, 2017
21st Highway Africa conference held
By Ama
Amankwah Baafi
Grahamstown, South Africa
The 2017 edition of the annual
Highway Africa Conference took place in Grahamstown, South Africa from 31st
August 2017 to 1st September 2017.
The two-day conference which was on
the theme, 'Media, Accountability and Local Governance,’ was hosted by the
School of Journalism and Media Studies at the Rhodes University.
The 21st since its inception, the
conference brought together seasoned editors, journalists and civil
society activists to explore ways to build the capacities of the different
actors especially the local media within the accountability framework.
The Conference Director, Mr Chris
Kabwato, said building capacity for the media has become important as they are
the hope for the struggles of countries.
Ahead of the conference, a
pre-capacity building workshops for journalists from selected countries were
held.
These include the Barclays Data
Journalism Master class, which three journalists from Ghana participated; The
Gates Foundation Science Journalism; and the Open Society Initiative for
West Africa (OSIWA) Media and Local Governance training.
Background
Touted as the largest annual
gathering of African journalists, the conference has been the fulcrum
of debates on Journalism, media and information and communication
technology.
Tuesday, May 02, 2017
Equity Savings and Loans commences business
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/equity-savings-and-loans-commences-business.html
USAID Helps Ghana Bring Reading Back to Yendi Public Primary School
With support from USAID/Ghana’s Learning project, Ghana’s Ministry of
Education is bringing reading back to the public school classroom. Assessments
in 2013 and 2015 indicated that 50 percent of children in primary grade 2
struggled to read a single word. Together, USAID and the Ministry are determined
to bring positive change by strengthening student performance and having more
children reading with fluency and comprehension.
Experts within the Ministry’s Ghana Education Service
identified the “phonemic” approach to reading instruction as an international
best practice that could help Ghanaian children learn the reading fundamentals.
The intervention focuses on teaching the building blocks of reading: letter
recognition, sounding letters, decoding and forming words, building vocabulary,
fluency, and comprehension.
The Ministry introduced the phonemic approach in the Yendi
Municipality of the Northern Region in January 2017. On March 31, Ministry
officials, reading experts, and project managers from the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) visited Yendi to monitor progress. In a
class of more 40 students, the team randomly chose 12 students and found that
every child could read. Overall reading progress for the class had jumped from 3
percent of children reading words to 64 percent in within two and one half
months.
While assisted by technicians from the USAID Learning
project, this remarkable achievement is largely driven by the Ministry and the
Ghana Education Service. Through the Learning project, USAID supports the
Government of Ghana to increase the number of Ghanaian children who are able to
read with fluency in English and Ghanaian languages in the early grades of
primary school. Ghana’s effort to produce readers is supplemented by the
activities of other key partners such as UKAid’s support toward Complementary
Basic Education — which teaches reading and math to out-of-school children — and
UNICEF’s Inclusive Education project, which helps children with special needs in
reading and math.
USAID and the Ministry are strongly encouraged by these
positive results in Yendi Municipality. The intervention will expand to 100
districts during the 2017–2018 school year.
Friday, April 28, 2017
MoFA moves to control ‘fall armyworm’ invasion on crops
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/mofa-moves-to-control-fall-armyworm-invasion-on-crops.html
Royalties on logging generate GH¢60m
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/royalties-on-logging-generate-gh-60m.html
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Royalties on logging generate GH¢60m
Logging activities generated a total of GH¢60 million in the form of royalties over the last six years (2010-2015), a study on some selected District Assemblies’ (DAs) use of timber royalties, has revealed.
It shows that the quantum of royalties varies hugely from zero payment to GH¢122,000 between districts in a six month period and within the same district from one period to another.
The study said this was a consequence of the location of the commercial forest resource but then has implications for the choice of protocol for accessing the funds.
Civic Response, a natural resources and people's rights non-governmental organisation conducted the study to contribute to improving the use of forest royalties for the development of Ghana.
It is also part of the Forest Governance Monitoring System developed by Civic Response under the European Union (EU) and Department for International Development (DFID)-project tackling deforestation through linking Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).
A Programme Officer of Civic Response, Mr Samuel Mawutor, said in an interview on April 20, 2017 that the study assessed the current situation in some selected districts and made recommendations from this evidence to those involved in the distribution and management of DA member royalties.
He said it particularly dentified governance failures and discussed how transparency and accountability might be strengthened.
Findings
The overlapping geography of the areas makes it hard to see from disbursement reports exactly how much any one recipient should have received.
So, for some DAs, a dozen or more data-points in each report have to be identified and tallied to obtain the total revenue they can expect.
This problem is exacerbated when making year-on-year comparisons if administrative district boundaries change.
Also, while there is a general agreement that the system of collection and centralisation operates smoothly, it is not the case that the total royalties sum is available.
Each edition of the FC / OASL disbursement report had a figure for logging company indebtedness, and this typically runs at about GH¢3.25 million, although by law payment is due within 30 days, and commercial rates of interest may be charged on arrears.
Whereas company indebtedness as reported in disbursement reports may be explained in part by the cycle of invoicing and receiving payments, the Auditor General reported in 2013 that the total debt from timber concessions in 2010-2011 stood at GH¢1.96 million.
Inconsistency in royalties’ usage
Education on the use of royalties is very low and makes it difficult for various communities to recognise how royalties are used.
This represents a missed opportunity to promote to the public the concept that social infrastructure is a clear benefit from logging, despite the conventional wisdom that losing a country’s or community's natural resources is a fair price to pay for development.
Generally, the findings suggested that while there has been an improvement, they may also be inadequate to resolve the main problems, as they appear to be aimed at improving accountability between different institutions; DAs, OASL and FC, but do not in themselves advocate transparency and public accountability.
“Automatic transfer of royalties to the DAs and others entitled to receive them, combined with stronger systems of accounting for use of DA funds as a whole might be a more successful approach to explaining to citizens what public money is used for,” Mr Mawutor said.
He added that this would oblige DAs to publish a simple presentation of all their incomes and expenditures, and to label projects constructed from royalties.
The new Forest and Wildlife Policy tacitly recognises that state management of forests has not
delivered on development and improved lives of people, and therefore introduces important changes in the management of off-reserve areas.
The first strategy is develop the capacities of decentralised local institutions including the district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies, traditional authorities and civil society organisations in sustainable ‘off-reserve’ timber resources and non-timber forest products management.
Second, government will enact the legislations that will enable communities and individuals to benefit from trees on their farms and fallow lands, provide off reserve tree tenure security, authority to legally dispose of resources and allocate greater proportion of benefits accruing from the resource management to community members individually or collectively.
These strategies indicate that community management of forests, and of the proceeds from logging in off-reserves is likely to be a more viable option for delivering benefit.
Royalties and their distribution
Ghana's 2011 forest policy statement aims at the conservation and sustainable development of forest and wildlife resources for the maintenance of environmental stability and continuous flow of optimum benefits from the socio-cultural and economic goods and services that the forest environment provides to the present and future generations.
At the same time, it fulfills Ghana's commitments under international agreements and conventions.
Experts say that forest concessions are based on the premise that a country can afford to lose some forests that may or may not be replaced through genuinely sustainable forest management, provided the proceeds are used for the economic development of the country and also ensures positive social and environmental benefits.
Ghana has adopted the timber royalties’ mechanism as one way to achieve this. By taking concession areas out of public control and leasing them to private contractors, wealth generated from subsequent logging should, by rights, be shared.
In Ghana, there is a particularly strong legal and customary sense that the forest owners are local communities as represented by their traditional leadership structures or stools.
The Constitution expounds this right by detailing the redistribution of member royalties to the Office for the Administration of Stool Lands (OASL), the relevant Stool, Traditional Authority and DA.
It shows that the quantum of royalties varies hugely from zero payment to GH¢122,000 between districts in a six month period and within the same district from one period to another.
The study said this was a consequence of the location of the commercial forest resource but then has implications for the choice of protocol for accessing the funds.
Civic Response, a natural resources and people's rights non-governmental organisation conducted the study to contribute to improving the use of forest royalties for the development of Ghana.
It is also part of the Forest Governance Monitoring System developed by Civic Response under the European Union (EU) and Department for International Development (DFID)-project tackling deforestation through linking Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).
A Programme Officer of Civic Response, Mr Samuel Mawutor, said in an interview on April 20, 2017 that the study assessed the current situation in some selected districts and made recommendations from this evidence to those involved in the distribution and management of DA member royalties.
He said it particularly dentified governance failures and discussed how transparency and accountability might be strengthened.
Findings
The overlapping geography of the areas makes it hard to see from disbursement reports exactly how much any one recipient should have received.
So, for some DAs, a dozen or more data-points in each report have to be identified and tallied to obtain the total revenue they can expect.
This problem is exacerbated when making year-on-year comparisons if administrative district boundaries change.
Also, while there is a general agreement that the system of collection and centralisation operates smoothly, it is not the case that the total royalties sum is available.
Each edition of the FC / OASL disbursement report had a figure for logging company indebtedness, and this typically runs at about GH¢3.25 million, although by law payment is due within 30 days, and commercial rates of interest may be charged on arrears.
Whereas company indebtedness as reported in disbursement reports may be explained in part by the cycle of invoicing and receiving payments, the Auditor General reported in 2013 that the total debt from timber concessions in 2010-2011 stood at GH¢1.96 million.
Inconsistency in royalties’ usage
Education on the use of royalties is very low and makes it difficult for various communities to recognise how royalties are used.
This represents a missed opportunity to promote to the public the concept that social infrastructure is a clear benefit from logging, despite the conventional wisdom that losing a country’s or community's natural resources is a fair price to pay for development.
Generally, the findings suggested that while there has been an improvement, they may also be inadequate to resolve the main problems, as they appear to be aimed at improving accountability between different institutions; DAs, OASL and FC, but do not in themselves advocate transparency and public accountability.
“Automatic transfer of royalties to the DAs and others entitled to receive them, combined with stronger systems of accounting for use of DA funds as a whole might be a more successful approach to explaining to citizens what public money is used for,” Mr Mawutor said.
He added that this would oblige DAs to publish a simple presentation of all their incomes and expenditures, and to label projects constructed from royalties.
The new Forest and Wildlife Policy tacitly recognises that state management of forests has not
delivered on development and improved lives of people, and therefore introduces important changes in the management of off-reserve areas.
The first strategy is develop the capacities of decentralised local institutions including the district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies, traditional authorities and civil society organisations in sustainable ‘off-reserve’ timber resources and non-timber forest products management.
Second, government will enact the legislations that will enable communities and individuals to benefit from trees on their farms and fallow lands, provide off reserve tree tenure security, authority to legally dispose of resources and allocate greater proportion of benefits accruing from the resource management to community members individually or collectively.
These strategies indicate that community management of forests, and of the proceeds from logging in off-reserves is likely to be a more viable option for delivering benefit.
Royalties and their distribution
Ghana's 2011 forest policy statement aims at the conservation and sustainable development of forest and wildlife resources for the maintenance of environmental stability and continuous flow of optimum benefits from the socio-cultural and economic goods and services that the forest environment provides to the present and future generations.
At the same time, it fulfills Ghana's commitments under international agreements and conventions.
Experts say that forest concessions are based on the premise that a country can afford to lose some forests that may or may not be replaced through genuinely sustainable forest management, provided the proceeds are used for the economic development of the country and also ensures positive social and environmental benefits.
Ghana has adopted the timber royalties’ mechanism as one way to achieve this. By taking concession areas out of public control and leasing them to private contractors, wealth generated from subsequent logging should, by rights, be shared.
In Ghana, there is a particularly strong legal and customary sense that the forest owners are local communities as represented by their traditional leadership structures or stools.
The Constitution expounds this right by detailing the redistribution of member royalties to the Office for the Administration of Stool Lands (OASL), the relevant Stool, Traditional Authority and DA.
‘Fall armyworms’ may jeopardise agric initiative - Agric expert
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/fall-armyworms-may-jeopardise-agric-initiative-agric-expert.html
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
‘Time to halt galamsey to ensure food security’
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/time-to-halt-galamsey-to-ensure-food-security.html
Platform to connect traders of timber products promoted
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/platform-to-connect-traders-of-timber-products-promoted.html
Financial services advised to build credit management cultures
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/financial-services-advised-to-build-credit-management-cultures.html
Article 7.1 of MCC II is litigious to Ghana
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/article-7-1-of-mcc-ii-is-litigious-to-ghana.html
Police to help eliminate fraud in mobile money system
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/police-to-help-eliminate-fraud-in-mobile-money-system.html
Recruitment process of Special Prosecutor must be transparent
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/recruitment-process-of-special-prosecutor-must-be-transparent.html
Leverage on mobile money - Duffotiour tells financial instituns
http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/leverage-on-mobile-money-duffour-tells-financial-institutions.html
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Bridging the Gender Gap in African Agriculture
With support from the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), the African Women in Agricultural Research
and Development (AWARD) project, through the U.S. government’s Feed the Future
Initiative launched its 2017 round of Gender in Agribusiness Investments in
Africa (GAIA) competition. The
competition entailed a rigorous selection process that saw over
200 applications, selected
winners from18 countries gathered in
Accra to strengthen their business skills
and pitch ideas to investors. From April 3-4, a group of 31agribusiness entrepreneurs from across West and North Africa
participated in an
intensive entrepreneurship program, and then on April 5
these entrepreneurs presented their research and innovations to potential investors.
In attendance were USAID/Ghana Mission Director, Andrew Karas and AWARD
Director, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg.
The
entrepreneurs learned
about the current investor
landscape, how to raise
funds, and networked with potential
investors and collaborators. During
the event, entrepreneurs received training on how to successfully integrate gender
issues across their businesses. The event
culminated with a pitching
competition where three leading entrepreneurs were pronounced winners and
received cash prizes.
The
AWARD project, under Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and
food security initiative, aims to promote gender responsive agriculture and
improve the efficiency of agribusiness through its entrepreneurship
competition. “The Gender in Agribusiness Investments for Africa competition was
launched to bridge the gender gap in agricultural research and highlight the important
role gender plays in spurring economic growth,” remarked Mr. Karas.
“We
are particularly keen that, as it grows
in importance, the agribusiness sector does not exacerbate
existing social inequalities, but rather
remains a vehicle for inclusive agricultural growth for the continent,” said Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg.
The
2017
round
of GAIA competitions was funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of its High Five strategy,
which includes Feed Africa, an initiative to transform Africa’s agricultural sector for enhanced
and inclusive economic growth. According to AfDB’s Gender Policy and Program
Coordinator, Dr. Basil Jones,
“GAIA addresses the need for inclusive
innovation systems in agricultural research and development by ensuring the visibility, commercialization and
scaling up of gender responsive agricultural innovations.”
Leading
the development of the GAIA
training content is Intellecap,
an international training and consulting firm focused
on advancing market-oriented innovations that
have positive social and environmental impacts on the most vulnerable populations. This event was
also supported by the
African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN) which nurtures
agribusiness incubators to strengthen
agribusinesses across the continent.
USAID EVENT STRENGTHENS AGRIBUSINESS IN NORTHERN GHANA
The United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), through the U.S. government’s Feed the Future Initiative, and the
National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG), held the seventh annual
Pre-season Planning and Networking Forum on March 30 in Ghana’s Northern
Region. The event brought together 800 government officials, farmers,
agribusinesses, processors, agro-input dealers, seed companies, and producers
from across the country to build partnerships, establish market linkages, share
lessons learned and coordinate planning for the upcoming planting season.
The objective of the event is to create a platform for the agriculture sector
to build more competitive businesses and enhance agricultural productivity in
northern Ghana. In attendance were Northern Regional Minister Salifu Saeed and
USAID/Ghana Deputy Mission Director Steven E. Hendrix.
At the event,
Honorable Saeed and Mr. Hendrix handed over 22 seed vans (motorized vehicles)
to selected seed producers and agro-input dealers. These vans will assist
them in reaching the most remote farming communities in Northern Ghana, to
mitigate challenges these communities face accessing high-yielding seeds.
Additionally, the event featured panel discussions and an exhibition of
irrigation technology, farm and processing equipment, and improved seed
varieties. Topics discussed included ways to increase access to finance for
agribusinesses, the availability of high yielding seeds, and current
investments made in northern Ghana.
“Today’s pre-season
event is an important forum for catalyzing agriculture-led economic growth. It
has linked hundreds of Ghanaian agribusinesses to local and international
markets and fostered partnerships between farmers and agribusinesses,” said Mr.
Hendrix.
Through Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global
hunger and food security initiative, USAID works with the Ghana Government and
development partners to improve the competitiveness of the maize, rice and
soybean value chains. Ghana is one of Feed the Future’s priority countries. In
Ghana, Feed the Future works to increase agricultural competitiveness, with a
focus on the three northern regions, by introducing farmers to new technologies
and techniques that boost productivity, strengthening agricultural research,
linking farmers and agribusinesses to markets, and stimulating private sector
investment.
###
About USAID
USAID is the lead U.S. government agency that works to
end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to
realize their potential. USAID has supported Ghana in increasing food security,
improving basic health care, enhancing access to quality basic education, and
strengthening local governance to benefit all Ghanaian people.
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