By Ibrahim B. Seidu If something pragmatic is notdone to save famers in the Wa-West District of the Upper West Region by making available agric extension officers, farming activities will grind to a halt. The Wa-West district is one of the food baskets of the region. Farmers in the district who produce Soya beans, maize, kapaala (a new brand of sorghum) and are engaged in animal-rearing and the production of Shea-butter, have complained bitterly about the non-availability of Agric Extension Officers. The farmers said the district, which is the poorest in the region, has been affected negatively in the Agric sector over the years due to an inadequate supply of Agric Extension personnel. This revelation was made known at a one-day stakeholders’ workshop organised by Belinye Cooperative Shea-butter Processing and Marketing Society in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital. The Secretary of the group, Samuel Nyebar, said farmers in the area need modern knowledge of crop production, and called on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the government to support farmers in the district with Agric extension officers. Mr. Nyebar said there are a lot of farmers in the area who produce Shea-butter, but lack of ready-made markets is causing problems within the agric sector of the district. He said this has increased poverty levels in the district. He also said knowledge of disease prevention and control is another challenge that confronts farmers in the district. An Advocacy Consultant for Promoting Private Sector Development, Gabriel Fiatui, said climate change affects the quality of the soil, which also affects the farmers’ production in the area. Meanwhile, one of the Regional Agric Extension Officers, Methodius Bahiru Suglo, said there are only seventy-five Agric Extension Officers in the entire ten districts of the region. He however said the Wa-West district was given four extension officers, but they are not readily available for the benefit of farmers. Mr. Suglo said two years ago 48 staff of MOFA went on retirement, but they have not been replaced. He said the staff situation in general in the Agric department is inadequate, adding that it is affecting the whole agric sector of the region.
Government’s efforts to stabilise the country’s economy and control inflation will be given coverage in a forthcoming report to be published by the global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG). The Report: Ghana 2013 will provide key analysis of the country’s plans to develop its fledgling oil industry, which include building a US$10m school for petroleum studies. It will chart the major role earmarked for oil in driving economic growth long-term on the back of increased production at the offshore Jubilee Field, which reached 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December 2012. OBG has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the third consecutive year on research facilities with Deloitte & Touche (Ghana) in preparation for the Group’s forthcoming project. Under the MoU, OBG will have access to the firm’s expertise and research resources, which will be used in compilation of the Tax Chapter for The Report: Ghana 2013. OBG’s Regional Editor Robert Tashima said Ghana is set for yet another year of rapid expansion in growth, thanks in large part to sustained demand for its export-dependent commodities. “With a new administration in place, the test will be to see how successfully Ghana can channel the current gains it is making from oil, gas, cocoa and gold into prospects for future growth in the industrial and service sectors,†he said. “This will help diversify the economy, buffer it from external volatility and improve job-creation.†Tashima also said he looked forward to working once again with Deloitte & Touche (Ghana), adding that their in-depth knowledge of the country’s tax framework has proved highly useful to investors weighing up Ghana’s opportunities over the past two years. Felix Nana Sackey, Senior Partner at Deloitte & Touche (Ghana), agreed that commodity prices have buoyed Ghana’s economy. He added that the country also benefitted from a reputation as one of Africa’s most stable democracies. “Ghana has many advantages when it comes to attracting investors, and has worked to enhance its business environment. Certainly, its efforts to curb inflation -- which ended 2012 down at 8.8%, will prove useful in this regard,†he said. “I am delighted that Deloitte will once again play a part in relaying the key aspects of Ghana’s tax law and its implications to the worldwide business community in Oxford Business Group’s forthcoming report.†The Report: Ghana 2013 will act as a vital guide to the many facets of the country, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments. It will build on OBG’s 2012 publication, which provides a wide-ranging analysis of Ghana’s economy and is currently available in print or online.
Hellofood lands in Accra with the market-leading meal ordering platform. Bringing the world’s best food delivery platform to Ghana, Hellofood is the fastest and most convenient way of ordering food online. With more than 25 restaurants signed up in Ghana already, and loads more to come, customers can choose from all their favorite restaurants on one site or call Customer Service and order in a few clicks! “Our belief is that ordering food online should be fuss-free, fast and funâ€, said Joe Falter, CEO of Hellofood. Customers enter their areas, find their favorite restaurant near them and with just a few effortless clicks, orders over the Internet or via a phone call. “Our services is the best in Ghana offering seamless approach to Customer Service’’, which is an integral part of the business said Simon Mills, Country Manager of Hellofood. We offer customers the opportunity to pay same price for meals ordered and delivered at their convenience. Consumers are looking online for an increasingly large portion of their purchases, and restaurants want to be in on the action. “We expect a significant increase in customer numbers from the cooperation with Hellofood,†said Restaurant Managers. They believe the “online delivery service will be enthusiastically embraced†by their customers as it makes choosing and ordering food simple for the first time. Hellofood’s launch partners include restaurants in Accra. Customers will soon be spoilt for choice with city-wide coverage and a greater variety of restaurant choices.
Actis, the most experienced private equity real-estate investor in sub-Saharan Africa, has confirmed the signing of a joint venture agreement with Mabani Holdings Ghana Limited, a leading real-estate development company with an extensive property portfolio in the country and West Africa. The joint venture will see Actis and Mabani working together on a 70,000 square metre mixed-use office, hotel, residential and retail development on a seven-acre site in central Accra. The project is already in advanced design development and is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2014. Actis Head of Real Estate, David Morley, said: “This latest development will be Actis’s third real-estate project in Ghana following the success of Accra Mall, and One Airport Square which will be completed in mid-2014. ‘We are delighted to partner with Mabani, a company with a long track-record in West Africa and one which shares our vision of the investment opportunity in Ghana and our commitment to developing quality, sustainable real-estate,†he said Ghassan Yared, CEO of Mabani Holdings said: “This partnership is testament to our belief in the dynamism and viability of the economy, and our desire to contribute to and support the ongoing development of our country. We are proud to be associated with Actis and its outstanding record in real-estate development in sub-Saharan Africa, and look forward to bringing world-class, quality commercial and residential development to Ghana."
The World Bank Vice President for Africa Makhtar Diop will make his first official visit to Ghana later this week for talks with President John Dramani Mahama, senior government officials, as well as women, business and civil society leaders between February 14 and 15. A statement issued in Accra by the World Bank Accra office said Ghana joined the World Bank in September 1957 in a development partnership that Vice President Diop describes as having grown strongly. The bank noted that over the past several decades, “we are happy to see Ghana continuing to make major strides in maintaining its high economic growth while investing in health, education, and job opportunities for its peopleâ€. At the end of the visit, he will hold a dialogue session with the media.MakhtarDiop is a former Senegalese Economy and Finance Minister. From 2009-2012, Mr. Diop was the Country Director for Brazil, managing the World Bank’s largest country programme. Prior to this appointment, he served variously as Director for Strategy and Operations in the Latin American region; Director for Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure in the same region; and Country Director for Kenya, Eritrea, and Somalia. Before joining the World Bank, Mr. Diop also worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. Mr. Diop has had extensive experience in banking and finance in the Africa region.
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