THE government is negotiating with the Chinese and Indian governments for the procurement of equipment for the cultivation of soyabeans in large quantities.
Currently, many farmers are engaged in the production of the crop, but unlike maize, there are no planting and harvesting machines for the cultivation of soyabean which has a high nutritional value.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, who disclosed this after a familiarisation tour of Ghana Nuts Limited (GNL), an agro-processing company at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region, advised farmers who are engaged in the cultivation of the crop to form co-operatives to make maximum use of the equipment on arrival.
The management of GNL said the company had the capacity to buy all the soyabeans produced by the farmers to process into oil.
Mr Ahwoi said now that there was a ready market for the crop, his ministry would hasten the negotiations for the early delivery of the machinery.
He consequently directed that a well-skilled agro-logistic team comprising his ministry and the GNL should meet immediately to discuss the way forward towards the mass cultivation of the crop.
The Deputy Managing Director of the GNL, Mr Prince Obeng Asante, said it was the vision of the company to become the agro-processing centre of excellence within the sub-region.
He said, the company had a total workforce of 997, 454 of them women, who were engaged in the production of soyabean oil, soy meal, lethicin, soap stocks, shea butter, shea meal, rice bran oil, rice bran meal, cotton seed oil, cotton seed meal, among other agro-products, for both industrial and household consumption, as well as for export.
He disclosed that to make for value addition, the company was into the generation of electricity using shea meal to fuel the steam turbine, while it also generated 3.5 megawatts of power; one megawatt for factory use and 2.5 megawatts sold to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Mr Asante said for enhanced value addition and extension, the GNL processed 4,000 tonnes of meat and fish from its fish and poultry farms per year, 25,000 tonnes of soap per year and 60,000 tonnes of maize into maize oil, maize meal for poultry and maize grit for the brewery industry, as well as corn flakes.
He appealed to the government to hand over the Ejura Farms in the Ashanti Region to the company to enable the management to undertake large-scale mechanised soyabean cultivation, adding that the company also needed easy access to farm machines, financial resources, storage facilities, extension services, support for soyabean and groundnut production and a level playing field in the cooking oil industry, among other requests.
On the company’s corporate social responsibility, the deputy managing director disclosed that his outfit had renovated and adopted the Children’s Ward at the Techiman Holy Family Hospital and developed a modern laundry service at the hospital.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
AYUM SHOWS THE WAY IN BEST TIMBER PRACTICES (PAGE 20)
THE Ayum Forest Products (Mim) Limited, a forest resource concession holder in the Asunafo North Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region, has committed about $500 million towards a reforestation project in the degraded Amama Forest Reserve at Atronie, near Sunyani.
From 2003 when the programme began, the company has planted over five million indigenous tree species.
The tree species which cover an area of 42.28sqkm, include Cinderella, Ofram, Ceiba, Mahogany, Edinam, Wawa, Utile, Emire, Kyenkyen, Koto, Kokrodua, Mansonia, Asanfina, Makore, Akasaa and Ortie.
Currently, the company sources about 80 per cent of all wood material input from its own managed lease area while its current forest management practices are in line with Ghana’s Forestry Laws and regulations as well as the logging manual.
In addition, the company is highly committed to forest restoration in degraded areas and reclamation of log sidings in productive forest areas, using indigenous species.
As one of the largest timber companies in the country, Ayum has the opportunity to positively influence the Ghanaian landscape through its commitment to, responsible forestry practices to become a leader in the sub-regional forest products industry.
Recently, the company joined the Global Forest and Trade Network-West Africa, thereby, committing its forest concessions to responsible forest management through credible certification. In addition to the forest concessions under the company’s management, Ayum also agreed to implement responsible procurement policies for the timber entering its sawmills, veneer and plymills.
The company’s forest reserves are crucial to the conservation and protection of biodiversity in the Guinean Moist Forest Eco-region, which is considered the most rich region in West Africa.
Some of its concessions are located in the Bia-Goaso-Djimbarakrou conservation corridors, which comprises a network of forests that lie across the border between Southern Ghana and South Eastern La Cote d’Ivoire.
The responsible management and identification of high conservation forests in these concessions will help to protect habitats for vulnerable or threatened species. By providing an example for other companies to follow, Ayum will assist the Global Forest Trade Network-West Africa in reaching a tipping point in responsible forest standard business practice by 2015.
During a recent interaction the management of the company had with the press at Mim, near Goaso, the Director of Administration of Naja David Group, Mr Akufo Owoo, hinted that Ayum had adopted a waste management system that ensured proper management and disposal of waste at all levels of the company’s operations. “Wood processing is conducted in a manner that generates minimum amount of waste and that notwithstanding, the greater proportion of waste generated in the factory was recycled and utilised in its production process, “ he said.
He said the company was committed to the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Global Forest Trade Network programme and to this end, it had identified and developed special management plans to protect the habitat of the recently rediscovered and highly endangered Rock Fowl in collaboration with the Ghana Wildlife society.
Mr Akufo-Owoo indicated that Ayum would continue to work with WWF- West Africa Forest Programme Office to improve the quality of forest management and implement a veritable, documented step-by-step process to achieving the Forest Stewardship Certification (FSC).
He said the company also believed that the forest was a backbone of the Ghanaian economy and had the potential of contributing significantly to the company’s aspirations of achieving poverty reduction and sustainable . “The company’s goal is, therefore, contribute to sustainable development in Ghana and was determined to adopt and practice the principles of responsible forest management, “ Mr Akufo-Owoo said.
He said Ayum was committed to the development and welfare of communities and people within its operational areas, sustainable resources management and value addition through down-stream processing of timber.
The commitment towards local development is manifest in the company’s numerous development programmes in communities such as Adabokrom in the Juabeso-Bia District in the Western Region, Atronie and Mim/Akwaboah in the Goaso Municipality.
“Ayum believed that a committed workforce was an asset to the company and therefore, it attached a great deal of importance to the development and well-being of its workforce of 2,157, “ Mr Akufo-Owoo said and that management regularly organised training workshops and refresher courses on occupational hazards and health matters for its employees.
It runs a 24-hour health post with competent health personnel supported by a well-equipped ambulance to provide emergency services.
It was expected that other timber companies in the sub-sector would emulate its practices.
From 2003 when the programme began, the company has planted over five million indigenous tree species.
The tree species which cover an area of 42.28sqkm, include Cinderella, Ofram, Ceiba, Mahogany, Edinam, Wawa, Utile, Emire, Kyenkyen, Koto, Kokrodua, Mansonia, Asanfina, Makore, Akasaa and Ortie.
Currently, the company sources about 80 per cent of all wood material input from its own managed lease area while its current forest management practices are in line with Ghana’s Forestry Laws and regulations as well as the logging manual.
In addition, the company is highly committed to forest restoration in degraded areas and reclamation of log sidings in productive forest areas, using indigenous species.
As one of the largest timber companies in the country, Ayum has the opportunity to positively influence the Ghanaian landscape through its commitment to, responsible forestry practices to become a leader in the sub-regional forest products industry.
Recently, the company joined the Global Forest and Trade Network-West Africa, thereby, committing its forest concessions to responsible forest management through credible certification. In addition to the forest concessions under the company’s management, Ayum also agreed to implement responsible procurement policies for the timber entering its sawmills, veneer and plymills.
The company’s forest reserves are crucial to the conservation and protection of biodiversity in the Guinean Moist Forest Eco-region, which is considered the most rich region in West Africa.
Some of its concessions are located in the Bia-Goaso-Djimbarakrou conservation corridors, which comprises a network of forests that lie across the border between Southern Ghana and South Eastern La Cote d’Ivoire.
The responsible management and identification of high conservation forests in these concessions will help to protect habitats for vulnerable or threatened species. By providing an example for other companies to follow, Ayum will assist the Global Forest Trade Network-West Africa in reaching a tipping point in responsible forest standard business practice by 2015.
During a recent interaction the management of the company had with the press at Mim, near Goaso, the Director of Administration of Naja David Group, Mr Akufo Owoo, hinted that Ayum had adopted a waste management system that ensured proper management and disposal of waste at all levels of the company’s operations. “Wood processing is conducted in a manner that generates minimum amount of waste and that notwithstanding, the greater proportion of waste generated in the factory was recycled and utilised in its production process, “ he said.
He said the company was committed to the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Global Forest Trade Network programme and to this end, it had identified and developed special management plans to protect the habitat of the recently rediscovered and highly endangered Rock Fowl in collaboration with the Ghana Wildlife society.
Mr Akufo-Owoo indicated that Ayum would continue to work with WWF- West Africa Forest Programme Office to improve the quality of forest management and implement a veritable, documented step-by-step process to achieving the Forest Stewardship Certification (FSC).
He said the company also believed that the forest was a backbone of the Ghanaian economy and had the potential of contributing significantly to the company’s aspirations of achieving poverty reduction and sustainable . “The company’s goal is, therefore, contribute to sustainable development in Ghana and was determined to adopt and practice the principles of responsible forest management, “ Mr Akufo-Owoo said.
He said Ayum was committed to the development and welfare of communities and people within its operational areas, sustainable resources management and value addition through down-stream processing of timber.
The commitment towards local development is manifest in the company’s numerous development programmes in communities such as Adabokrom in the Juabeso-Bia District in the Western Region, Atronie and Mim/Akwaboah in the Goaso Municipality.
“Ayum believed that a committed workforce was an asset to the company and therefore, it attached a great deal of importance to the development and well-being of its workforce of 2,157, “ Mr Akufo-Owoo said and that management regularly organised training workshops and refresher courses on occupational hazards and health matters for its employees.
It runs a 24-hour health post with competent health personnel supported by a well-equipped ambulance to provide emergency services.
It was expected that other timber companies in the sub-sector would emulate its practices.
PUMP-FITTED WELLS FOR THREE TAIN COMMUNITIES (PAGE 20)
Three wells fitted with pumps have been drilled for three remote and deprived communities in the Tain District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
The communities are Tabor, Kamancheli and Mekoda.
Before the project, the beneficiary communities had to walk long distances in search of water which was not even wholesome for consumption.
The projects which costs over $24,000 were financed jointly by Roswell and Living Way Community Churches in Atlanta and Los Angeles, respectively in the United States of America (USA), with the support from the Brute Labs team, also of the USA, through the instrumentality of the Ghana branch of Pioneers-Africa, a religious organisation.
Inaugurating the facilities at Tabor, the National Director of Pioneers-Ghana, Mr Fred Agbossey-Dimako, said the provision of clean and safe water was critical for reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.
He said it also contributed to fighting poverty and hunger, and ensured a healthy community that could engage in productive agricultural activities.
Mr Agbossey-Dimako said the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), which provided a policy framework for development initiatives such as the provision of potable water would end in 2015.
“I doubt if we are any where near the future that we seek for our people. The fact, however, cannot be lost on us that the scale and complexity of the challenge requires a partnership approach, “ he said.
Mr Agbossey-Dimako said it was also important for people to realise that they were responsible for the health of one another.
The director gave the assurance that his organisation would continue to serve in the Tain District, which he described as “remote”,and other deprived communities in the country.
He paid tribute to one Mr Joshua To of Pioneers-Africa for his immense contribution towards the provision of the facilities.
He announced that his organisation had established a health centre at Banda Ahenkro, and had rehabilitated the old Banda Agricultural school blocks which were being used as the Bandaman Senior High School. The organisation periodically organises free medical outreach programmes in the community.
Mr Agbossey-Dimako said his organisation was constructing wells in some deprived areas in the Upper West and Central regions, and urged the beneficiary people to take very good care of the facilities in order to prolong their life span.
Mr Reuel Kim, the leader of the team from the USA who participated in the inaugural ceremony, said the group was inspired by God to assist the deprived people with a potable water system, and that it was the beginning of other things to come.
He invoked God’s blessings on the people and urged them to renew their faith in the Almighty whom he described as the giver of everything, including water. Quoting from the Bible, Mr Kim recalled the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land and how they were provided with water mysteriously through Moses.
The communities are Tabor, Kamancheli and Mekoda.
Before the project, the beneficiary communities had to walk long distances in search of water which was not even wholesome for consumption.
The projects which costs over $24,000 were financed jointly by Roswell and Living Way Community Churches in Atlanta and Los Angeles, respectively in the United States of America (USA), with the support from the Brute Labs team, also of the USA, through the instrumentality of the Ghana branch of Pioneers-Africa, a religious organisation.
Inaugurating the facilities at Tabor, the National Director of Pioneers-Ghana, Mr Fred Agbossey-Dimako, said the provision of clean and safe water was critical for reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.
He said it also contributed to fighting poverty and hunger, and ensured a healthy community that could engage in productive agricultural activities.
Mr Agbossey-Dimako said the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), which provided a policy framework for development initiatives such as the provision of potable water would end in 2015.
“I doubt if we are any where near the future that we seek for our people. The fact, however, cannot be lost on us that the scale and complexity of the challenge requires a partnership approach, “ he said.
Mr Agbossey-Dimako said it was also important for people to realise that they were responsible for the health of one another.
The director gave the assurance that his organisation would continue to serve in the Tain District, which he described as “remote”,and other deprived communities in the country.
He paid tribute to one Mr Joshua To of Pioneers-Africa for his immense contribution towards the provision of the facilities.
He announced that his organisation had established a health centre at Banda Ahenkro, and had rehabilitated the old Banda Agricultural school blocks which were being used as the Bandaman Senior High School. The organisation periodically organises free medical outreach programmes in the community.
Mr Agbossey-Dimako said his organisation was constructing wells in some deprived areas in the Upper West and Central regions, and urged the beneficiary people to take very good care of the facilities in order to prolong their life span.
Mr Reuel Kim, the leader of the team from the USA who participated in the inaugural ceremony, said the group was inspired by God to assist the deprived people with a potable water system, and that it was the beginning of other things to come.
He invoked God’s blessings on the people and urged them to renew their faith in the Almighty whom he described as the giver of everything, including water. Quoting from the Bible, Mr Kim recalled the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land and how they were provided with water mysteriously through Moses.
3 BA DISTRICTS BENEFIT FROM RURAL GROWTH PROGRAMME (PAGE 20)
THREE districts in the Brong Ahafo Region and the three northern regions have been selected to benefit from a programme dubbed “Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP).”
The Brong Ahafo districts are Tain, Pru and Sene, and the northern regions — Northern, Upper East and Upper West.
The three northern regions are considered to be poor in terms of all socio-economic indicators and as such the decision by the government to implement the programme there is quite laudable.
The Brong Ahafo Region, however, has been drawn into it by virtue of the wide range of its agro-ecological zones.
The vegetation of the region comprises 25 per cent of forest, 11 per cent semi-deciduous forest and as high as 64 per cent savannah. This provides the region some level of diversity in the utilisation of agricultural resources.
Additionally, the Brong Ahafo Region has a fair rainfall distribution, fertile soils and a high farming population of approximately 70 per cent.
The overall goal of the programme is to achieve sustainable agriculture and food security for the rural poor and improved rural livelihoods in northern Ghana and the northern parts of the Brong Ahafo Region.
It also aims at developing agricultural commodity value chains and increasing agricultural production.
It will help vulnerable groups, including women and the youth, to create profitable commodity and food value chains and in addition, help improve market linkages with domestic and export markets for agricultural production.
The NRGP is highly demand-driven and private sector-led and adopts a value chain approach for developing agriculture in the beneficiary districts.
Nearly 45,000 households will directly benefit from a comprehensive intervention, including strengthening of producer organisations, infrastructure improvement, such as roads, irrigation schemes and improved access to agricultural production, processing and marketing funding.
The project, which will run for eight years, is under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and is jointly funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) at a total cost of US$103.55 million.
IFAD is advancing US$22.33 million and the grant of US$0.40 with the AfDB will offer a loan of US$61.22 million
IFAD formulated the programme in 2006 following a request from the Government of Ghana (GoG), and subsequently appraised it in July 2007 after which the government requested the AfDB to co-finance the project with IFAD.
This is to help achieve wider geographical coverage and increase agriculture-related infrastructure such as irrigation schemes and rural roads.
The NRGP is consistent with the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) and Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy II, which now constitutes the framework for donors’ support to the development of the agriculture sector.
The project is strongly market and productivity oriented, private sector-led, involving farmers, traders, processors, exporters, service providers and banks and it will provide an incentive framework for private firms to do agricultural business in the north and supply linkages, have multi-stakeholder dialogue and public private partnerships, build sustainable private institutions, as well as bring in innovation and flexibility.
“We don’t want the north to export poverty to the south as it has been the case all the time but we want the north to export quality agricultural produce down south. If we provide them with proper things they won’t be nuisances anywhere,” the National Programme Co-ordinator, Mr Roy Ayariga, observed. The programme has four different aligned components. The first is the commodity chain development, under which producer organisations would be strengthened, establishment of Inter-Professional bodies, preparation and implementation of results-based commodity business plans, as well as the development of a commodity fund. This will be followed by the rural infrastructure development component which will involve small-scale irrigation development such as dams, river-pumping machines and underground abstractions to irrigate at least 4,500 hectares. Under this component also will be the development of marketing infrastructure, which will involve 800 kilometres of farm tracks and 600 kilometres of feeder roads, 270 culverts, upgrading of 348 kilometres of trunk roads, construction of 10 bridges while farmers will be assisted to acquire group transport and storage/bulk facilities. The remaining two components are access to financial service and programme co-ordination.
Planned under the project are four commodity windows to be pursued including industrial crops such as Soybean, groundnut and brewery sorghum.
Women crops such as shea-nut, moringa, African rice sesame, export horticulture such as okra, chilly, French bean, Asian vegetables and papaya; and an animal-based window such as guinea fowl production, fish farming and small ruminants and pigs rearing.
About 372,000 rural households or three million people living in these households out of 1.56 million who are women will directly benefit from the programme with improved rural infrastructure and water facilities, improved access to financial services and increased agriculture production, processing and marketing.
This is expected to lead to an increase in incomes and household food security, as well as improved living standards.
The programme was officially launched in all the participation regions. In the Brong Ahafo Region, the ceremony took place at Kintampo and was well attended by farmers, chiefs, district chief executives, district co-ordinating directors, staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and Presiding Members, among other dignitaries.
The National Co-ordinator of the programme, Mr Ayariga, said a strong linkage between industries and agriculture was the key to poverty reduction and wealth creation, especially among the rural poor in Ghana in general and the Northern Savanna area in particular.
According to him, farmers got poorer when the cost of production far exceeded the revenues from their produce, mainly due to poor market, and attributed poor prices of local agricultural produce to cheap imports and farmers’ lack of knowledge of the requirements of the markets, both in terms of quality standards and the marketable varieties.
He explained that the NRGP sought to establish a strong linkage between producers and consumers by adopting the commodity value chain approach to agri-business.
The Project Co-ordinator pointed out that with the rising of global food crises, local producers were now in an advantageous position because it was cheaper for importers of various agricultural commodities to look in the country to purchase those commodities and that past interventions had always been skewed towards increasing yields and the introduction of new varieties.
That is why, he said, under the NRGP, farmers’ knowledge of market requirements and strengthening of the entire linkage between the market and the farmer, was the central focus.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, who launched the programme, said the current global dispensation had engendered a process where co-operate economic power concentrated in value addition and set quality standards to meet the demands of the global competitive market.
He stressed that production and distribution of goods and services had become smaller in the global village while the supply chain flowed freely across national boarders.
The Brong Ahafo districts are Tain, Pru and Sene, and the northern regions — Northern, Upper East and Upper West.
The three northern regions are considered to be poor in terms of all socio-economic indicators and as such the decision by the government to implement the programme there is quite laudable.
The Brong Ahafo Region, however, has been drawn into it by virtue of the wide range of its agro-ecological zones.
The vegetation of the region comprises 25 per cent of forest, 11 per cent semi-deciduous forest and as high as 64 per cent savannah. This provides the region some level of diversity in the utilisation of agricultural resources.
Additionally, the Brong Ahafo Region has a fair rainfall distribution, fertile soils and a high farming population of approximately 70 per cent.
The overall goal of the programme is to achieve sustainable agriculture and food security for the rural poor and improved rural livelihoods in northern Ghana and the northern parts of the Brong Ahafo Region.
It also aims at developing agricultural commodity value chains and increasing agricultural production.
It will help vulnerable groups, including women and the youth, to create profitable commodity and food value chains and in addition, help improve market linkages with domestic and export markets for agricultural production.
The NRGP is highly demand-driven and private sector-led and adopts a value chain approach for developing agriculture in the beneficiary districts.
Nearly 45,000 households will directly benefit from a comprehensive intervention, including strengthening of producer organisations, infrastructure improvement, such as roads, irrigation schemes and improved access to agricultural production, processing and marketing funding.
The project, which will run for eight years, is under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and is jointly funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) at a total cost of US$103.55 million.
IFAD is advancing US$22.33 million and the grant of US$0.40 with the AfDB will offer a loan of US$61.22 million
IFAD formulated the programme in 2006 following a request from the Government of Ghana (GoG), and subsequently appraised it in July 2007 after which the government requested the AfDB to co-finance the project with IFAD.
This is to help achieve wider geographical coverage and increase agriculture-related infrastructure such as irrigation schemes and rural roads.
The NRGP is consistent with the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) and Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy II, which now constitutes the framework for donors’ support to the development of the agriculture sector.
The project is strongly market and productivity oriented, private sector-led, involving farmers, traders, processors, exporters, service providers and banks and it will provide an incentive framework for private firms to do agricultural business in the north and supply linkages, have multi-stakeholder dialogue and public private partnerships, build sustainable private institutions, as well as bring in innovation and flexibility.
“We don’t want the north to export poverty to the south as it has been the case all the time but we want the north to export quality agricultural produce down south. If we provide them with proper things they won’t be nuisances anywhere,” the National Programme Co-ordinator, Mr Roy Ayariga, observed. The programme has four different aligned components. The first is the commodity chain development, under which producer organisations would be strengthened, establishment of Inter-Professional bodies, preparation and implementation of results-based commodity business plans, as well as the development of a commodity fund. This will be followed by the rural infrastructure development component which will involve small-scale irrigation development such as dams, river-pumping machines and underground abstractions to irrigate at least 4,500 hectares. Under this component also will be the development of marketing infrastructure, which will involve 800 kilometres of farm tracks and 600 kilometres of feeder roads, 270 culverts, upgrading of 348 kilometres of trunk roads, construction of 10 bridges while farmers will be assisted to acquire group transport and storage/bulk facilities. The remaining two components are access to financial service and programme co-ordination.
Planned under the project are four commodity windows to be pursued including industrial crops such as Soybean, groundnut and brewery sorghum.
Women crops such as shea-nut, moringa, African rice sesame, export horticulture such as okra, chilly, French bean, Asian vegetables and papaya; and an animal-based window such as guinea fowl production, fish farming and small ruminants and pigs rearing.
About 372,000 rural households or three million people living in these households out of 1.56 million who are women will directly benefit from the programme with improved rural infrastructure and water facilities, improved access to financial services and increased agriculture production, processing and marketing.
This is expected to lead to an increase in incomes and household food security, as well as improved living standards.
The programme was officially launched in all the participation regions. In the Brong Ahafo Region, the ceremony took place at Kintampo and was well attended by farmers, chiefs, district chief executives, district co-ordinating directors, staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and Presiding Members, among other dignitaries.
The National Co-ordinator of the programme, Mr Ayariga, said a strong linkage between industries and agriculture was the key to poverty reduction and wealth creation, especially among the rural poor in Ghana in general and the Northern Savanna area in particular.
According to him, farmers got poorer when the cost of production far exceeded the revenues from their produce, mainly due to poor market, and attributed poor prices of local agricultural produce to cheap imports and farmers’ lack of knowledge of the requirements of the markets, both in terms of quality standards and the marketable varieties.
He explained that the NRGP sought to establish a strong linkage between producers and consumers by adopting the commodity value chain approach to agri-business.
The Project Co-ordinator pointed out that with the rising of global food crises, local producers were now in an advantageous position because it was cheaper for importers of various agricultural commodities to look in the country to purchase those commodities and that past interventions had always been skewed towards increasing yields and the introduction of new varieties.
That is why, he said, under the NRGP, farmers’ knowledge of market requirements and strengthening of the entire linkage between the market and the farmer, was the central focus.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, who launched the programme, said the current global dispensation had engendered a process where co-operate economic power concentrated in value addition and set quality standards to meet the demands of the global competitive market.
He stressed that production and distribution of goods and services had become smaller in the global village while the supply chain flowed freely across national boarders.
MINISTER LAUNCHES GREENING GHANA DAY AT YEFRI (PAGE 46)
THE Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda, at the weekend, launched this year’s Greening Ghana Day at Yefri, near Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region, with a call on the youth and key institutions to start engaging in a massive tree planting exercise throughout the country to help resuscitate the depleted and degraded forest resources.
The theme for the launch was; “The role of the youth in Greening Ghana”.
The minister disclosed that there were about 5,170,916 schoolchildren in the primary, junior high and senior high levels and that, if each of those children were encouraged to plant at least one tree per quarter per year, it meant that Ghana would have about 20,683,664 trees every year. In that regard, he said his ministry was making the necessary arrangements for schools and their pupils/students who would do well in the planting of more trees to be given awards.
“I, therefore, call on the heads of schools to join me to encourage schoolchildren to learn the culture of growing trees, because it is important to encourage the youth who form a greater proportion of the working population of Ghana to engage in tree planting exercise,” Alhaji Dauda appealed.
The minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asutifi South, explained that in the current circumstances of high youth unemployment rate, the Greening Ghana programme provided a good opportunity to offer greater employment to the youth, and consequently, generate wealth, thereby reducing poverty in many communities.
According to the minister, the devastating effects of forest degradation, especially during the past two decades, were beginning to manifest in the seeming extinction of premium timber species, such as Odum, Mahogany, Sapele and many others, resulting in the drastic reduction in the raw material base of the timber industry, loss of biodiversity, drying up of water bodies as well as the loss of tourist sites, which were all important sources of national revenue.
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission (FC), Mr Alhassan N. Attah, disclosed that the FC, under the supervision of the ministry, was pursuing major programmes in addressing the problems of forest and wildlife resource depletion and environment degradation in the country.
The programmes, he said, were focused primarily towards securing the national resource base, developing the natural resource base and optimising the flow of benefits from the resource to the country and, particularly, to the resource owners.
Mr Attah explained that the Greening Ghana Day was actually to announce to the general public about the suitable period for tree planting and to encourage as many people as possible to plant trees each day.
Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, in his welcoming address, condemned the activities of chainsaw operators in the country, saying that such nefarious activities had contributed significantly to the depletion of the country’s forest resources while bush and wild fires were also contributory factors as well as continuous farming activities.
A Member of the Council of State, Mr J.H. Owusu-Acheampong, who chaired the function, also appealed to heads of institutions, opinion leaders and all other stakeholders to spearhead the crusade to plant more trees, since that was the only way the Greening Ghana programme could be realised.
The theme for the launch was; “The role of the youth in Greening Ghana”.
The minister disclosed that there were about 5,170,916 schoolchildren in the primary, junior high and senior high levels and that, if each of those children were encouraged to plant at least one tree per quarter per year, it meant that Ghana would have about 20,683,664 trees every year. In that regard, he said his ministry was making the necessary arrangements for schools and their pupils/students who would do well in the planting of more trees to be given awards.
“I, therefore, call on the heads of schools to join me to encourage schoolchildren to learn the culture of growing trees, because it is important to encourage the youth who form a greater proportion of the working population of Ghana to engage in tree planting exercise,” Alhaji Dauda appealed.
The minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asutifi South, explained that in the current circumstances of high youth unemployment rate, the Greening Ghana programme provided a good opportunity to offer greater employment to the youth, and consequently, generate wealth, thereby reducing poverty in many communities.
According to the minister, the devastating effects of forest degradation, especially during the past two decades, were beginning to manifest in the seeming extinction of premium timber species, such as Odum, Mahogany, Sapele and many others, resulting in the drastic reduction in the raw material base of the timber industry, loss of biodiversity, drying up of water bodies as well as the loss of tourist sites, which were all important sources of national revenue.
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission (FC), Mr Alhassan N. Attah, disclosed that the FC, under the supervision of the ministry, was pursuing major programmes in addressing the problems of forest and wildlife resource depletion and environment degradation in the country.
The programmes, he said, were focused primarily towards securing the national resource base, developing the natural resource base and optimising the flow of benefits from the resource to the country and, particularly, to the resource owners.
Mr Attah explained that the Greening Ghana Day was actually to announce to the general public about the suitable period for tree planting and to encourage as many people as possible to plant trees each day.
Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, in his welcoming address, condemned the activities of chainsaw operators in the country, saying that such nefarious activities had contributed significantly to the depletion of the country’s forest resources while bush and wild fires were also contributory factors as well as continuous farming activities.
A Member of the Council of State, Mr J.H. Owusu-Acheampong, who chaired the function, also appealed to heads of institutions, opinion leaders and all other stakeholders to spearhead the crusade to plant more trees, since that was the only way the Greening Ghana programme could be realised.
Monday, July 20, 2009
ASUNAFO NORTH NIHIS SCHEME MANAGER ORDERED TO STEP ASIDE (PAGE 35)
THE newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester A. Mensah, has ordered the manager of the Asunafo North District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, Mr J. Appau, to step aside immediately to pave way for an investigation into his alleged gross misconduct.
Consequently, he has set up a three-member committee chaired by a representative of the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, to investigate the matter and report to the NHIA within 21 days.
The other members of the committee are Mr Nicholas Afram Osei, the National Claims Manager of the NHIA, who is to move to the region to act as the regional manager and also take responsibility of the Asunafo North scheme, together with Mr Aimee Yuori, the head of the Legal Department of the authority.
As part of his decision to restructure the scheme in the region, Mr Mensah also directed that the scheme managers of Tano North and Berekum, Messrs Amankona Diawuo and Stephen Kankam, respectively, were to report to the regional office of the scheme to be re-assigned by the acting regional manager.
He described the transfer of the two as promotions.
Furthermore, Mr Mensah directed that the current Regional Manager, Mr William Sabi, should move to the national headquarters of the scheme in Accra to take temporary responsibility of the claims department.
Again, Mr Mensah ordered that the Public Relations Officer of the scheme in the region, Mr Michael Appiah Sarpong, should move to the Corporate Affairs Department of the NHIA in Accra.
The CEO made the changes when he addressed the core management staff of the 19 schemes in the region at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani as part of his nationwide familiarisation tour.
He also announced that forensic audit would be conducted in all the schemes throughout the country to determine whether or not they were operating effectively.
According to Mr Mensah, some of the schemes were applying their premiums on administrative and overhead expenses.
Accompanied by other directors and consultants of the NHIA, Mr Mensah said clinical audit would also be conducted on all claims paid previously to service providers to ascertain their veracity.
He, therefore, advised the scheme managers to get their records ready as a team would soon embark on random checks.
The CEO observed that some of the schemes had as many as 15 members constituting the board of directors superintending over between six and seven core management staff.
He alleged that in some cases, some of the board members took loans which were eating into the accounts of the scheme, a situation he said would not be tolerated.
Mr Mensah noted with concern the laxity on the part of the staff, especially those responsible for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sections, saying that in certain cases, those responsible for data entries were reluctant to do the work at the expense of subscribers.
He, therefore, charged the scheme managers to effectively supervise their staff or else be held responsible.
Mr Mensah again alleged that fraud had been detected in some instances and warned that whoever was caught for that offence would face the full rigours of the law.
He emphasised that it was not the intention of the government to sack any staff, since they were all public servants, but cautioned them to do the right thing.
Mr Mensah also identified delays in the printing of identification cards for clients as a teething problem, stressing that the issuance of temporary ID cards to subscribers had some cost implications which the authority was putting in place mechanisms to address.
According to him, the campaign promise by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) before the 2008 general election to institute a one-time payment of premium by subscribers would become a reality by the end of next year.
Mr Mensah said the entire NHIS needed a rethinking and, therefore, the NHIA was conducting legal review of the system to make it more viable, efficient and effective.
He observed that some of the schemes had poor office accommodation, improper layouts and lack of space.
According to him, the various assemblies and the Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCCs) had critical and central roles to play in the operations of the schemes, especially in the areas of housing the schemes in their respective districts.
The CEO announced that 120 medicines had now been added to the essential drug list, and expressed the hope that the measure would address the problem clients faced in accessing the required medication when they attended health facilities.
Mr Mensah gave the assurance that the conditions of service of the staff would be looked at to bridge any disparities.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, urged the scheme managers to discharge their work professionally and avoid politicisation of the programme, for which some of them were noted.
“Do not read politics into the scheme and insulate yourself from politics because a change of government does not affect you as public servants,” he stressed.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo appealed to the authority to ensure that subscribers were issued with their cards promptly and to also improve upon the quality of pictures on them.
Consequently, he has set up a three-member committee chaired by a representative of the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, to investigate the matter and report to the NHIA within 21 days.
The other members of the committee are Mr Nicholas Afram Osei, the National Claims Manager of the NHIA, who is to move to the region to act as the regional manager and also take responsibility of the Asunafo North scheme, together with Mr Aimee Yuori, the head of the Legal Department of the authority.
As part of his decision to restructure the scheme in the region, Mr Mensah also directed that the scheme managers of Tano North and Berekum, Messrs Amankona Diawuo and Stephen Kankam, respectively, were to report to the regional office of the scheme to be re-assigned by the acting regional manager.
He described the transfer of the two as promotions.
Furthermore, Mr Mensah directed that the current Regional Manager, Mr William Sabi, should move to the national headquarters of the scheme in Accra to take temporary responsibility of the claims department.
Again, Mr Mensah ordered that the Public Relations Officer of the scheme in the region, Mr Michael Appiah Sarpong, should move to the Corporate Affairs Department of the NHIA in Accra.
The CEO made the changes when he addressed the core management staff of the 19 schemes in the region at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani as part of his nationwide familiarisation tour.
He also announced that forensic audit would be conducted in all the schemes throughout the country to determine whether or not they were operating effectively.
According to Mr Mensah, some of the schemes were applying their premiums on administrative and overhead expenses.
Accompanied by other directors and consultants of the NHIA, Mr Mensah said clinical audit would also be conducted on all claims paid previously to service providers to ascertain their veracity.
He, therefore, advised the scheme managers to get their records ready as a team would soon embark on random checks.
The CEO observed that some of the schemes had as many as 15 members constituting the board of directors superintending over between six and seven core management staff.
He alleged that in some cases, some of the board members took loans which were eating into the accounts of the scheme, a situation he said would not be tolerated.
Mr Mensah noted with concern the laxity on the part of the staff, especially those responsible for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sections, saying that in certain cases, those responsible for data entries were reluctant to do the work at the expense of subscribers.
He, therefore, charged the scheme managers to effectively supervise their staff or else be held responsible.
Mr Mensah again alleged that fraud had been detected in some instances and warned that whoever was caught for that offence would face the full rigours of the law.
He emphasised that it was not the intention of the government to sack any staff, since they were all public servants, but cautioned them to do the right thing.
Mr Mensah also identified delays in the printing of identification cards for clients as a teething problem, stressing that the issuance of temporary ID cards to subscribers had some cost implications which the authority was putting in place mechanisms to address.
According to him, the campaign promise by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) before the 2008 general election to institute a one-time payment of premium by subscribers would become a reality by the end of next year.
Mr Mensah said the entire NHIS needed a rethinking and, therefore, the NHIA was conducting legal review of the system to make it more viable, efficient and effective.
He observed that some of the schemes had poor office accommodation, improper layouts and lack of space.
According to him, the various assemblies and the Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCCs) had critical and central roles to play in the operations of the schemes, especially in the areas of housing the schemes in their respective districts.
The CEO announced that 120 medicines had now been added to the essential drug list, and expressed the hope that the measure would address the problem clients faced in accessing the required medication when they attended health facilities.
Mr Mensah gave the assurance that the conditions of service of the staff would be looked at to bridge any disparities.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, urged the scheme managers to discharge their work professionally and avoid politicisation of the programme, for which some of them were noted.
“Do not read politics into the scheme and insulate yourself from politics because a change of government does not affect you as public servants,” he stressed.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo appealed to the authority to ensure that subscribers were issued with their cards promptly and to also improve upon the quality of pictures on them.
STRENGTHEN SUPERVISORY ROLES OVER DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES (PAGE 15, JULY 17)
THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has called on the various Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCC) to strengthen their supervisory roles over the district assemblies.
He said the RCCs should be empowered to apply sanctions against non-performing and errant assemblies.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo made the call when he gave an address during the inauguration of the re-constituted Brong Ahafo RCC in Sunyani.
The Regional Minister suggested that a separate cost centre be created for the RCCs so that their programmes and activities could be budgeted for and funded adequately to enable them to perform their functions satisfactorily.
He disclosed that, “We have no development budget to undertake development activities, such as the provision of office and residential accommodation for public officers who are posted to the region to work”.
According to him, the RCC subsisted on the funds allocated to the office of the President under government machinery and had to apply to that office for the funds to run the secretariat, which he said sometimes delayed unduly, thereby frustrating the programmes and activities of the secretariat.
The Regional Minister pointed out that by the Constitution the role of the RCC was to facilitate co-ordination, monitoring, supervision and backstopping of the assemblies and to provide a forum for representatives from local authorities and the chiefs.
However, he said, the RCC performed several functions which, he noted, were not captured in the legislation and that the most significant functions, in so far as they accounted for a sizeable proportion of the RCC’s resources, were, protocol function, involving the hosting of dignitaries and the celebration of national and regional events.
“We are also expected to co-ordinate and monitor the activities of decentralised ministeries departments and agencies (MDAs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that operate at the regional level and that is the reason why regional heads of MDAs are ex-officio members of the RCC,” he explained.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said it was disheartening to observe that in spite of these extensive responsibilties assigned to the RCC by the legislation, the regulatory environment, as presently conceived, neither recognised the region as a decision-making body within the local government structure nor provided the RCCs with the means of enforcement and the sanctions that were necessary to ensure the districts’ compliance with central government policies and programmes.
He declared, “No provision is made for the funding of the assigned functions beyond ad hoc arrangements through warrants, the two per cent of total District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) allocation to the region and in recent past, HIPC Funds”.
The regional minister observed that sanitation in the municipalities and districts, especially in the urban communities, had been deteriorating and that the assemblies appeared to have been overwhelmed by the filth that had engulfed almost every major town in the region.
He further noted that drainage systems meant purposely for the free flow of waste water were chocked with silt and refuse while communities did not have proper places of convenience, and that, the management of both liquid and solid wastes was not up to standard and for some places, liquid waste was dumped indiscriminately on the ground.
He said most municipal/district assemblies did not even have technically engineered final disposal sites.
He said the RCCs should be empowered to apply sanctions against non-performing and errant assemblies.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo made the call when he gave an address during the inauguration of the re-constituted Brong Ahafo RCC in Sunyani.
The Regional Minister suggested that a separate cost centre be created for the RCCs so that their programmes and activities could be budgeted for and funded adequately to enable them to perform their functions satisfactorily.
He disclosed that, “We have no development budget to undertake development activities, such as the provision of office and residential accommodation for public officers who are posted to the region to work”.
According to him, the RCC subsisted on the funds allocated to the office of the President under government machinery and had to apply to that office for the funds to run the secretariat, which he said sometimes delayed unduly, thereby frustrating the programmes and activities of the secretariat.
The Regional Minister pointed out that by the Constitution the role of the RCC was to facilitate co-ordination, monitoring, supervision and backstopping of the assemblies and to provide a forum for representatives from local authorities and the chiefs.
However, he said, the RCC performed several functions which, he noted, were not captured in the legislation and that the most significant functions, in so far as they accounted for a sizeable proportion of the RCC’s resources, were, protocol function, involving the hosting of dignitaries and the celebration of national and regional events.
“We are also expected to co-ordinate and monitor the activities of decentralised ministeries departments and agencies (MDAs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that operate at the regional level and that is the reason why regional heads of MDAs are ex-officio members of the RCC,” he explained.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said it was disheartening to observe that in spite of these extensive responsibilties assigned to the RCC by the legislation, the regulatory environment, as presently conceived, neither recognised the region as a decision-making body within the local government structure nor provided the RCCs with the means of enforcement and the sanctions that were necessary to ensure the districts’ compliance with central government policies and programmes.
He declared, “No provision is made for the funding of the assigned functions beyond ad hoc arrangements through warrants, the two per cent of total District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) allocation to the region and in recent past, HIPC Funds”.
The regional minister observed that sanitation in the municipalities and districts, especially in the urban communities, had been deteriorating and that the assemblies appeared to have been overwhelmed by the filth that had engulfed almost every major town in the region.
He further noted that drainage systems meant purposely for the free flow of waste water were chocked with silt and refuse while communities did not have proper places of convenience, and that, the management of both liquid and solid wastes was not up to standard and for some places, liquid waste was dumped indiscriminately on the ground.
He said most municipal/district assemblies did not even have technically engineered final disposal sites.
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