Sep 14, 2026
President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to establish a maize processing plant in the Sissala area of the Upper West Region as part of efforts to tackle the recurring glut faced by maize farmers.
The facility, he said, will create a reliable market for maize producers while adding value to the crop for both domestic consumption and export.
President Mahama said the initiative was intended to encourage increased production by ensuring farmers have a market for their harvest.
“We are going to set up a maize processing plant in the Sissala area. The plant will not only buy the maize, but it will also process the maize for the market and for export, and so I believe that this glut will become a thing of the past,” he said during a citizens’ engagement at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies on Saturday, September 12.
President Mahama also announced plans to increase funding to the National Food Buffer Stock Company to enable it to purchase more surplus maize.
He said inadequate storage capacity had constrained the company’s ability to absorb excess production and disclosed that silos would be constructed at its storage centres to expand its capacity.
“Aside from that, we are increasing the amount of money that we are giving to Buffer Stock to off-take the excess maize,” he added.
Source:https://www.citinewsroom.com/
Sep 11, 2026
Investment in agricultural development and appropriate technology remains the surest pathway for Ghana to transform its economy, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences (UEAS), Professor Mark Adom-Asamoah, has said.
He said countries that had successfully developed had done so on the back of agriculture and industry, stressing the need for Ghana to adopt a modern approach to agricultural education and production.
Professor Adom-Asamoah made the remarks yesterday when he led a three-member delegation from UEAS on a courtesy call on the management of the New Times Corporation (NTC), publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator.
Source:https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/
Sep 10, 2026
The government has secured a $7 million grant from the Green Climate Fund to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities in Northern Ghana.
The seven-year project will be implemented across eight districts and will focus on climate-resilient agriculture, improved early warning systems and increased access to climate finance.
Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, said the project was developed in response to climate-related challenges identified during engagements between the ministry and local communities.
Her statement was read by Ruth Dzokoto, Deputy Director of Administration at the Office of the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability.
Agyeman-Rawlings said climate change was increasingly affecting agriculture, water resources, infrastructure, livelihoods and local economic activity, making it a development challenge rather than solely an environmental concern.
“Climate change is consistently identified not simply as an environmental issue but as a development and livelihood issue affecting agriculture, water resources, infrastructure, livelihoods and local economic growth,” she said.
According to the Minister, local authorities generally understand the climate challenges confronting their communities but often lack the technical capacity, institutional support and predictable financing required to develop practical solutions.
“We also heard very clearly that our local authorities understand the challenges confronting their communities but often require stronger technical capacity, institutional support and access to predictable climate finance to turn their knowledge into practical and bankable solutions,” she said.
The project, secured through the Environmental Protection Agency, will strengthen the capacity of district-level authorities to plan and budget for climate adaptation.
It will also improve access to climate information and early warning systems, while supporting climate-resilient agriculture and ecosystem-based adaptation.
The initiative will further facilitate access to climate finance and strengthen community knowledge and participation in climate adaptation efforts.
Agyeman-Rawlings called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, local authorities, development partners and communities to ensure that climate interventions deliver tangible improvements in livelihoods.
She said coordinated action was necessary to address the growing effects of climate change on vulnerable communities and build more resilient local economies.
Source: https://asaaseradio.com
Sep 7, 2026
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), in partnership with the Forum for Natural Regeneration (FONAR), has launched a Striga control awareness campaign in the Upper East Region to tackle the growing threat of the parasitic weed to food production and rural livelihoods.
Striga, commonly known as witchweed, is a parasitic plant that attaches itself to the roots of cereal crops, including sorghum, millet, maize and rice, and deprives them of water and nutrients, negatively impacting yields.
In districts including Nabdam, Talensi, Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West, the infestation has become particularly severe, with some heavily affected farms recording crop losses of between 60 and 100 per cent.
The campaign on the theme: “Healthy Soils, Living Trees, Smart Practices Starve Striga – Regreen to Reclaim,” was held at Kparaboug in the Nabdam District, with funding support from Awaken Trees of Austria under the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration for Women Empowerment and Livelihood Project (FMNR4WELIP).
The Executive Director of FONAR, Sumaila Saaka, said the weed had moved beyond being an ordinary agricultural pest to becoming a threat to household food security and rural incomes.
He explained that Striga could produce tens of thousands of seeds per plant, which could remain viable in the soil for many years, making the weed difficult to eradicate once a field became infested.
Mr Saaka said the situation was worsened by declining soil fertility, continuous cultivation of cereals, loss of tree cover, climate variability and the unintentional spread of Striga seeds through farm tools, animals, water runoff and contaminated crop residues.
He said the campaign was therefore designed to address both the weed and the underlying causes of land degradation.
Campaign
The campaign promotes Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), legume rotation and intercropping, application of compost and manure, early removal of Striga before seed production, and the use of tolerant crop varieties where available.
Mr Saaka said FONAR would provide farmer education materials, radio awareness messages, community sensitisation and school educational materials to improve the understanding of Striga and its control.
He said restoring soil health was central to the campaign because Striga thrived in degraded soils with low fertility.
“Lasting Striga control comes from combining several compatible practices consistently, season after season, across whole communities rather than single fields,” he said.
Targeting measurable results
The campaign seeks to ensure that at least 80 per cent of targeted farming communities can identify Striga, understand its life cycle and transmission pathways, and know at least three non-chemical control methods within the first year.
It also aims to increase the adoption of FMNR, legume rotation and soil fertility practices by 50 per cent in participating communities within two cropping seasons.
Over three years, the partners hope to achieve at least a 40 per cent reduction in Striga emergence and a 30 per cent reduction in associated cereal yield losses on participating and demonstration farms.
Mr Saaka said the Trans-Sahara WEFE Nexus Agroforestry initiative was being piloted in Tindongo and urged farmers to become “Striga control warriors” and called on district assemblies to include Striga management in their agricultural development plans.
Impact
The Nabdam District Crop Officer, Adams Musah, said Striga had become a serious threat to crop production in the district, with several farmers suffering substantial losses.
“Striga is a serious parasite that has affected crop yield in the Nabdam District, and we are grateful for this partnership with FONAR for this campaign,” he said.
Source: https://www.graphic.com.gh
Sep 7, 2026
Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, is calling for a borderless Africa to facilitate the movement of agricultural produce and boost intra-African trade.
Mr Dumelo made the call in an interview on the sidelines of the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF), where he held discussions with agriculture ministers, Ghanaian agricultural entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders on ways to strengthen Ghana’s agricultural sector and the continent’s food systems.
Mr Dumelo noted African countries have different agricultural strengths and resources, making it important for countries to trade more among themselves.
“No country is an island. What we have, they may not have, and some of the things they have, we don’t have,” he said.
He said Africa must explore opportunities to move agricultural goods more easily across the continent, including between Ghana and countries such as Rwanda, Liberia, and South Africa, and vice versa.
Mr Dumelo, however, acknowledged that several bottlenecks continue to hinder intra-African trade. These, he said, include visa restrictions, import and export tariffs, inadequate road infrastructure and other challenges that affect the movement of goods and services.
He called for the expansion of existing trade corridors, including the West African corridor, to create a more integrated African market.
“We need to expand that. Let’s have a borderless Africa so movement of goods and services will be eased and we can trade more with our African partners,” he said.
The Deputy Minister stressed that achieving a borderless Africa would require collaboration beyond the agriculture sector, involving institutions responsible for foreign affairs, infrastructure, health and other areas.
He said work had already begun to address some of the challenges restricting intra-African agricultural trade, with the goal of making a more integrated African trading system a reality.
More about AFSF
Mr Dumelo is one of several high-profile dignitaries participating in the 20th edition of the AFSF from September 1–4, at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda.
It is being held under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience.”
AFSF is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture and food systems, bringing together stakeholders to take practical action and share lessons that will move African food systems forward.
Organisers say more than 5,000 stakeholders from over 50 countries are expected to participate.
The Forum has identified investment and finance, food security and nutrition, climate resilience, youth and digital innovation, and trade and markets as key focus areas.
Mr. Dumelo expressed appreciation to AGRA, a key partner of the AFSF, for creating opportunities for leaders from across the world to deliberate on Africa’s food systems.
He said government cannot transform Ghana’s food systems sector alone and called for stronger collaboration with development partners to advance agriculture across the continent.
“We cannot do it alone. We need all the development partners on board, so we can work together to make Africa great,” he said.
The Forum also provided an opportunity for young people from Ghana working in the food systems space to engage with the Deputy Minister and discuss issues concerning agriculture and the future of food systems in Africa.
Source: https://www.myjoyonline.com
