Farmers urged to Give Accurate Information on Agric Census

    

A call has been made to farmers in the Upper East Region to give accurate information to officers of the Statistical Service in the ongoing nationwide Agricultural Census being conducted.

This will enable policy makers to formulate credible data to streamline the short falls of the government’s planting For and Jobs policy being rolled out on the Agricultural sector last year, which aimed at boosting productivity in order to  achieve food security in the country.

 Small holder farmers in communities of the Upper East Region have indicated that in the 2017 farming season, they were marginalized under the Planting for food and jobs PFJs programme. 

According to the farmers the programme benefited the rich and commercial farmers rather than the poor farmers. 

This came to light during the educational campaign tour on the Agriculture Census being undertaken by the Information Service Staff in the communities in the region. 

They also complained that the seeds and fertilizer subsidy did not get to them on time. In an interview with Radio Ghana, the focal person in charge peasant farmers Association of Ghana PFAG  Rev John Akaribo said, the exercise is to enable government know the number of people in who are into the Agricultural sector and to plan well for them. 

Rev Akaribo added that the PFJs policy introduced last year with the 50% subsidy on fertilizer to farmers was very good but there were some challenges regarding adequate information and the quality of seed provided. 

He therefore appeal to the Government to ensure that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to put stringent measures in place this crop season to ensure that every farmer benefit. A 65 year old farmer, Mr. Joe Abaare, from the Nyariga community near Bolgatanga Municipality, who had been farming for the past 30 years, noted that the programme when implemented devoid of politics and favoritism would help achieve its intended purposes. 

Deputy Director of ISD in charge of Media Liaison Mrs. Esther Codjoe Amissah, assured the farmers that their concerns would be forwarded to the government and entreated them to actively get involved on the ongoing   agriculture census.

The Regional Information Officers Mr. Nelson Mba called on the farmers to ensure that they register with the intervention on time and to also pay their debts for the subsidy they benefited under the programme during the 2017 farming season.

Story by : GBC Emmanuel Akayeti

Constitutional Week Celebrations Launched NCCE –Upper East Region

The concept of accountability obliges the individual and organizations to account for their stewardship and accept responsibility for them. 

It also includes the disclosure of monetary dealings and other entrusted property. However, peoples laid-back attitude towards accountability leading to inadequate transparency are militating against efforts aimed at tackling corruption in Ghana. 

This was disclosed by the Regional Director of NCCE, Mr. Pontius Pilate Apaabey at the launch of this year’s constitutional week celebration. 

The 2018 Constitutional Week Celebration has been launched by the National Commission for Civic Education NCCE, in the Upper East Region. 

It was under the theme, “Our Nation, Our Heritage: Consolidating Ghana’s Democratic Gains”. The ceremony was organized in Bolgatanga and the Kasena Nankana Municipalities in the region. 

It was sponsored by the European Union and launched under the National Anti-Corruption Action   Plan, NACAP, and Accountability, “Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme ARAP”. 

This year’s constitutional week celebration brought together security agencies including the Ghana National Fire Service, Immigration Service, Custom Division, and the Police Service. 

The main agenda was on how to minimize corruption as social canker within the security agencies in the country. 

Speaking to Ghana today on the theme, the Regional Director of NCCE, Mr. Pontius Pilate Apaabey Baba said,corruption thrives in an environment where accountability, transparency, citizens’ vigilance and participation were virtually absent. 

He stressed that the presence of these principles could lead to the promotion of discipline and ensure that state and organizational assets and finances are protected. He called on workers at their various workplaces to be knowledgeable in order to detect and report shady deals to the appropriate authorities for sanctions to be taken. 

This is because corruption is a societal problem and requires all to help fight and eliminate or minimize it. 

Mr. Apaabey indicated that this year, marks twenty-five 25 years of uninterrupted constitutional rule in the 4th Republic and also twenty-five 25 years of the existence of the NCCE. 

Adding that the Constitutional Week Celebration was instituted to commemorate the country’s return to constitutional democratic practice, which process started with a referendum where the Ghanaian electorate voted massively to adopt the Fourth Republican Constitution on April 28, 1992. Ghanaians must therefore work hard to consolidate the fledgling democracy towards the common good.

He also mentioned, lack of resources for anti-corruption agencies, political will and lack of confidence in the institutions as challenges militating against   the fight of corruption. 

Mr. Apaabey appealed to the government to adequately resource the institutions to fight the canker.  Stoey by: GBC Reporter Emmanuel Akayeti .

Gender Gaps Issues Hindering Women Empowerment in Upper East Region

Gender gaps with regards to women’s policies in the field of Agriculture and land related issues, have been identified as some of the obstacles bedeviling the full realization of women empowerment. 

As part of measures to address the said challenge and bridge  the gender gaps and to protect women’s economic livelihood, a day’s stakeholders engagement meeting has been organized by the Network for Women Rights in Ghana NETRIGHT on the theme ”Strengthening the Voices of Rural Farmers for improved Livelihoods”. 

The workshop organized in collaboration with the Women and Orphans Movement WOM in Bolgatanga brought together about 45 women organizations, women leaders and women farmers and other development partners across the three Northern regions. 

The workshop was aimed at raising critical awareness and sensitivity to gender gaps in order to solicit public support for reforms in the Agriculture and land sectors to enhance women’s livelihood.

 In the light of this, NETRIGHT which is made up of Civil Society Organizations from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions including the International Federation of Women Lawyers FIDA, Ghana is requesting on the government to as a matter of urgency pay much attention to the livestock sector so as to help improve the livelihood of rural women farmers. 

Speaking to Ghana Today, the Director of Women and Orphans Movement,  Ms Fati Abigail Abdulai explained  that the  forum with sponsorship from  the African Women’s Development Fund AWDF was to identify and discuss specific issues in the land and agricultural sectors within the three northern Regions and to develop strategies that will be forwarded  to the Government for redress. 

Ms Alima Bawah , a member of the NETRIGHT and Co-founder of  “Cowtribe  Technology”, an NGO   stated  that,  majority of  women in the rural settings are into  livestock production, stressing that lack of  veterinary officers  in the rural areas to provide  technical know- how to the rural women farmers on how to effectively rear livestock coupled with the challenge of  vaccinating these livestock were some  of the major threats to livelihoods of rural women farmers.

Hajia Alima Sagito, a member of the group who delivered a presentation on the topic “Promoting Gender Equity in the Agricultural Sector –Policy Issues”, mentioned that in spite of the fact that women contributed about 70 percent to food production in the country and formed 52 per cent of the agricultural workforce, they were still marginalised when it comes to agriculture policies and interventions. 

She attributed the problem to gender inequalities in the agriculture sector, limited access to agricultural information and technologies and fewer opportunities for training among other factors. 

The marginalization of the role of women in agriculture in Ghana has been identified as the bane to the agriculture industry and until the government takes bold decision and the political will to prioritize gender issues in the sector, efforts at addressing gender equality will be a mirage.

The Gender Analysis of Agriculture and Lands Sectors Project initiated and sponsored by NETRIGHT and AWDF is a major step towards the achievement of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in these sectors as espoused in the National and International Laws.

Story by : GBC Emmanuel Akayeti

570 Basic Schools to be Covered under Citizenship Week Celebration CWC on Tax Education NCCE-UER

   

About 570 basic schools in the Upper East are to be schooled on taxes as part of this year’s Constitutional Week Celebration CWC under the sub theme: “Our Taxes build a Great Ghana”. 

This was disclosed by the Regional Director of National Commission for Civic Education, NCCE Mr. P. P. Apaabey at a media encounter held in Bolgatanga. 

The Citizens Week Celebration was instituted by the NCCE in 2012 as part of the annual Constitutional Week Celebration.  

The move is in fulfillment of the commission’s mandate of creating and sustaining the awareness of the principles and objectives of the 1992 constitution. In an interview with GBConline, Mr. Apaabey explained that the citizenship week celebration seeks to remind pupils and students of their responsibilities as active citizens and the role they can play as future leaders to build a strong, vibrant and democratic country.  

The citizens week celebration, he noted also provides a platform for eminent personalities who are role models of society to interact and impart virtues of good citizenship to pupils in the basic schools.

Mr. Apaabey added that the CW will set the agenda for the school children to join in raising the needed awareness on Tax compliance and to also imbibed in them the culture of paying tax as they grow up to become responsible adults. 

He emphasized that the focus will be on changing attitudes through children, by catching them young. 

The motive he stressed will draw the attention of citizens to the spirit of patriotism to heighten public awareness of the relevance and benefits of paying taxes as a civic responsibility for the development of Ghana. 

He further explained that, Article 41 (J) of the 1992 constitution enjoins every citizen to declare his or her income to right and lawful agencies and to satisfy all tax obligations. 

As a result, the Ghana Revenue Authority, under the Act of parliament 2009, Act 791 merged with the Customs Excise and Preventive Services, CEPS, the Internal Revenue Service, the Value Added Tax, VAT and the Revenue Agencies Board, RAGB Secretariat into one Authority for the administration of taxes and customs duties in the country.

Story by : GBC Emmanuel Akayeti

Trainer of Trainers Workshop Organized at Manga Bawku-UER

 Lack of access to farm inputs particularly improved seeds coupled with unfavorable climatic change are among factors that accounts for food insecurity and poverty in developing countries including Ghana.  

For example, during the 2017 farming season, most smallholder farmers could not get access to improved seed from the government’s intervention of Planting for food and Job programme. 

As a way forward, the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute, SARI has organized a day’s workshop at Manga in Bawku to school players in the Agricultural sector on the Community-Based Seed Production CBSP system, a strategy developed  to increase farmers’ access to diversified crop varieties in rural areas. 

A trainer of trainers’ workshop with sponsorship from the Kirkhouse Trust Project, based in the United Kingdom was geared at bridging the inequality gap between the formal and informal sectors.

 Kirkhouse Trust Project has been a founding partner for SARI since 2008 in the area of promoting farmers access to improved cowpea seeds to help alleviates poverty in Ghana. 

They came out with a field resistance of the five commercially important Cowper varieties in Ghana in 2016. 

The workshop was intended to enhance farmers’ access to improved seeds together with stakeholders who share the value of cowpea seed dissemination, by training them on Community Seed Production Concept CSPC. By so doing, they can in turn share the knowledge with farmers in their respective communities. 

Participants include Agricultural Extension Officers from Bawku and its adjoining communities, as well as post-graduate students from the Kwame Nkurumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST among some staff of SARI. 

In an interview with Ghana Today, a Senior Research Scientist in charge of SARI Manga Agricultural Station, Dr. Francis Kusi said, the current project will adopt the CORAF sponsored Innovation Platform IP which is the nucleus out-growers model of seed production and distribution. 

He indicated that the aim of the project is to increase crop productivity, food security, and more importantly improve the livelihood of small-scale farmers in Northern Ghana through adaptation of improved seeds of cowpea. 

Dr. Kusi added that, the new strategy will enable out growers in large scale companies across the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions to be identified as private partners of the project. 

The IP he indicated will be used to train the out-growers as seed producers for the large scale companies Dr. Kusi further indicated that, the training will enhance the capacity of farmers to adopt improved technologies to increase their production. 

A facilitator and a researcher, Dr. I D K Atokple noted that if demonstrations are not organized after the release of every new variety, the variety remains unknown and this means that no work was done. He seized the platform to explain the relevance of community seed production.

The CSP approach seeks to target farmers in the remote areas that usually do not have access to certify seeds because agro-input dealers are located in the district capitals. 

Based on that, some elite farmers will be selected and trained in the remote areas to serve as seed producers in their respective communities. 

Women Farmers Stakeholders Engagement Meeting Organized Bolgatanga –UER

Gender gaps with regards to women’s policies in the field of Agriculture and land related issues, have been identified as some of the obstacles bedeviling the full realization of women empowerment.  

As part of measures to address the said challenge and bridge  the gender gaps and to protect women’s economic livelihood, a day’s stakeholders engagement meeting has been organized by the Network for Women Rights in Ghana NETRIGHT on the theme ”Strengthening the Voices of Rural Farmers for improved Livelihoods.]

The workshop organized in collaboration with the Women and Orphans Movement WOM in Bolgatanga, brought together about 45 women organizations, women leaders and  women farmers and other development partners across the three Northern regions.

The workshop was aimed at raising critical awareness and sensitivity to gender gaps in order to solicit for public support for reforms in the Agriculture and land sectors to enhance women’s livelihood.

In the light of this, NETRIGHT which is made up of Civil Society Organizations from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions including the International Federation of Women Lawyers FIDA, Ghana is calling on the government to as a matter of urgency; pay much attention to the livestock sector so as to help improve the livelihood of rural women farmers.

 Speaking to GBC online, the Director of Women and Orphans Movement Ms Fati Abigail Abdulai explained that the forum organised by NETRIGHT and sponsored by the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), seeks to identify and discuss specific issues in the land and agricultural sectors, within the three northern Regions and to develop strategies including those of their counterpart in the southern sector for onward submission to the Government for redress.

Ms Abdulai, said the Gender Analysis of Agriculture and Lands Sectors Project initiated and sponsored by NETRIGHT and AWDF is a major step towards the achievement of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in these sectors as espoused in the National and International Laws.

A member of the NETRIGHT and Co-founder of “Cowtribe Technology”, an NGO Ms Alima Bawah stated that majority of women in the rural settings are into livestock production such as ruminants and poultry.  

She indicated  that the lack  of  veterinary officers  in the rural areas to provide  technical know- how to the rural women farmers on how to effectively rear livestock coupled with the challenge of  vaccinating these livestock were some  of the major threat to livelihoods of rural women farmers.

The Director of Savannah Integrated Development Aid SIDA Hajia Alima Sagito, who delivered a presentation on the topic “Promoting Gender Equity in the Agricultural Sector –Policy Issues”, stated that, in spite of the fact that Women contribute about 70 per cent to food production in the country and formed 52 per cent of the agricultural workforce, they were marginalised when it comes to agriculture policies and interventions. 

She attributed the problem to gender inequalities in the agriculture sector, limited access to agricultural information and technologies with regards to women and fewer opportunities for training and exposure to extension services.

Hajia Sagito indicated that the marginalization on the role of women in agriculture in Ghana has been the bane in the industry and unless the government takes a bold decision and the political will to prioritize gender issues, by ensuring that gender equality is practised at all levels of the agricultural and lands sectors.

.

Women Smallhoder Farmers in Talensi Nabdam Meet

 

The formation of Smallholder women farmers’ network, SWFN, in the Nabdam and Talensi districts of the Upper East Region has jointly held its maiden meeting at the Catholic Social centre in Bolgatanga.

The formation of the Network was facilitated by Action Aid Ghana AAG in December 2017.  The aim of the Network is to empower them to advocate for women smallholder farmers in the two districts to take advantage of government agriculture interventions.

Some of these interventions include the Planting for Food and Jobs PFJ Programme, One District, One Village, One Dam and the One District, One Factory.

The Executive Committee Members of the Smallholder women farmers’ network, Hilary Adongo, from the two beneficiary districts, took time to acquaint themselves with the PFJ policy and planned activities for this year’s crop season.

The Programme Manager of AAG in charge of Upper East Region, Mr. Alhassan Sulemana, assured the network of AAG’s continued support for the network and charged the Executive Committee to work hard to make the network a force to reckon with.

The Programme Officer of AAG with the oversight responsibility over the network, Ms Rebecca Kumi challenged the women farmers to be proactive and make the network their own and mobilize more women to come on board.

The Upper East Regional focal person of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana Reverend John Akaribo, and the Executive Director of the Restorative Seed Society, Mr. Hillary Adongo are providing technical support to the Executive Committee of the Network whilst AAG provides funding support.

The Executive Committee Members of the Network are made up of a total of 16 women from both Talensi and Nabdam districts.

Story by GBC’s Emmanuel Akayetis

Political Leaders and Heads of Departments warned of Latterness to Programmes- Regional Minister U/E

The Regional Minister, Mr Rockson Bukari Ayine has issued a warning to Political leaders and Heads of Departments of lateness to programmes.

The warming was issued during the first meeting of the Regional Coordinating Council for the year 2018 which some of the political leaders, heads of departments and some of the technocrats arrived at the function very late when the Regional Minister and the Chief Director of the Regional Coordinating Council RCC had finished reading their addresses.

The Upper East Regional Coordinating Council RCC warned all the fifteen Municipal and District Assemblies in the region including heads of department and technocrats that henceforth anybody who attends function organized in the Region late would be turned away and sanctioned.

The Regional Minister indicated that, as the highest political authority in the Region, lateness cannot be tolerated as it sets bad precedents to subordinates and others.

In his welcome address, the Chief  Director of the RCCoordinating Council, Alhaji Mahamadu Azonko reencountered instances where many of the leaders attended functions very late  whilst others to do not attend at all citing the last independence day  celebration among other examples and noted that such negative trend does not augur well.

The   Regional Minister in his speech explained that the first meeting of the Regional Coordinating Council for the year 2018, was in fulfillment of the Local Government Act 936 of 2016, which mandates all the Regional Coordinating Councils throughout the country to hold at least two ordinary meetings in a year to deliberate on how to chart the way forward  for accelerated development.

The meeting brought together stakeholders including Municipal and District Chief Executives, Technocrats, Heads of Departments, the Media among others.

Mr. Bukari mentioned low revenue mobilization as one of the major challenges confronting the Municipal and District Assemblies MDAs in the region, and call on the political heads and the technocrats to initiate pragmatic measures to help tackle the problem. 

On security, the Regional Minister indicated that the Regional Security Council REGSEC would continue to work hard to ensure the region become very calm to engender development and appealed to the MDAs to support the security agencies to intensify their patrols.

He said all the MDAs, are tasked to provide residential and office accommodation for Judiciary staff to help enhance administration of justices   in their respective areas.

The Regional Minister stated that the RCC would not relent in its supervision and monitoring roles, saying they will ensure that abandoned projects in Senior High Schools in the region are completed to help address the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy.

Mr Bukari stressed that the water problem in the Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West Districts and other parts of the region will be tackled and also to scale up the Community Led Total Sanitation CLTS in many communities in the region aimed at tackling Open Defecation.