Growth Green Agriculture (GG Agriculture) | African Agriculture Has Real Potential

Although structural impediments such as poor logistics render the search for new avenues of deeper intra-African trade challenging' there is an immediate and compelling growth potential in the trade of agricultural products' Standard Bank research analyst Simon Freemantle said last week.

Growth Green Agriculture (GG Agriculture) | Severest drought in the U.S. since the 1930s

Severest drought in the U.S. since the 1930s

Glencore International Plc (GLEN) and Bunge Ltd. (BG) expect lower prices for agricultural commodities in the coming season after the most severe drought in the U.S. since the 1930s drove corn and soybeans to records last year.

Growth Green Agriculture (GG Agriculture) | Making Agricultural Investments Work for Africa

AWEPA is collaborating with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to organize a two-day seminar on "Making Agricultural Investments Work for Africa: the Role of Parliamentarians" in Kigali, Rwanda, on 26-27 April 2013.

Small growers 'big role' in hunger reduction

Small-scale producers, local production and consumption circuits and recovering traditional crops have a major part to play in reducing hunger, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told professors and students at the University of Gastronomic Sciences recently, also noting the many possibilities of cooperation between FAO and the university to fulfil the vision of a hunger-free and sustainable world.

He said that the Green Revolution of the 1960s had increased per capita availability of food by over 40 percent, but at the cost of a loss of food diversity because of a focus on a few crops and significant impact on the environment from intensive use of chemical inputs.

Italy to support Ghanaian SMEs with €20m

The government of Italy will support Ghanaian Small and Medium and Enterprises (SMEs) with 20 million Euros, under the Ghana Private Sector Development Facility (GPSDF).

The two countries have also pledged to deepen economic ties between them, and to remove all outstanding bottlenecks to ensure rapid disbursement of the amount to beneficiary SMEs.

India to Invest in Ghana Sugar Factory

The Indian government, through the EXIM Bank of India, last year agreed to grant a loan of US$35 million to Ghana to fund the construction of a new sugar factory at Komenda in the Central Region of Ghana.

The project, which is expected to create around 400 jobs as well as benefiting more than 2,000 farmers, is due to commence in July.

Rakinder Bhagat, the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, during a visit to Trade and Industry Minister Haruna Iddrisu in Accra recently said that an initial 30% of the funds would be released as soon as the contract is finalized. Mr. Bhagat said that India was committed to strengthening bilateral relations with Ghana.

Foreigners Confident to Invest in Ghana

Confidence is high among foreign investors looking to invest in Ghana. The country’s economy is showing strong growth, and the number of registered investments grew by 6.42% in the first three quarters of last year, totaling 305 projects valued at $4.97 billion.

VP Calls on Italians to Invest in Ghana

Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, 61, the vice president of Ghana since 2012, last week called on Italian businesses to invest in Ghana, saying that the country’s economic prospects are high.

The economist and politician, who has previously worked as Governor of the Bank of Ghana, made the call as Laura Carpini, the new Italian Ambassador to Ghana visited him at the Flagstaff House in the capital Accra to introduce herself.

Ukraine increases agricultural export by 40%

In 2012, Ukrainian agricultural export increased by nearly 40 percent, reaching USD 17 billion, according to the Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Prysyazhnyuk. Additionally, he noted that Ukrainian agricultural industry produces twice as much as is consumed by the domestic market. Comparably, the UK produces only 60 percent of the food consumed in the country.

Ukrainian agricultural export in January – October 2012 included meat, fish, dairy, poultry, vegetables, vegetable oils, sugar, wine, nuts, apples, as well as 6.7 million tons of wheat worth nearly USD 1.8 billion, according toukrstat.gov.ua. Major buyers of Ukrainian agricultural products in 2012 were the EU and CIS countries.

Ghana - a successful African nation

Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains somewhat dependent on international financial and technical assistance as well as the activities of the large number of Ghanaians living and working abroad. Gold, timber, cocoa, diamond, bauxite, and manganese exports are major sources of foreign exchange. An oilfield which is reported to contain up to three billion barrels of light oil was discovered in 2007.This discovery may not only help offset the current high cost of oil imports but may in time generate large revenues for the country.

The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 50% of GDP and employs 85% of the work force, mainly small landholders.

Ghana has made good economic progress under a three-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. Ghana remains one of the more economically sound countries in all of Africa.

Agriculture Looking Increasingly Attractive

The global financial markets have experienced significant growth and expansion in recent times, both in terms of total trading volume and the choice of financial instruments available to investors. This evolution cannot be ignored, as it enhances the liquidity of the market while also increasing the subsequent range of risk management products available. 

Despite this influx of new options, however, some long-standing investment opportunities remain enduringly popular among traders. Take agriculture, for example. Agricultural investments are offering an increasingly attractive proposition to investors against the back drop of global warming and significant climate change. In particular, there has been a surge among American farm exports during the last three years, with the outlook forecasted to be even brighter for fiscal year 2013.

EU, FAO support food security in Malawi

EU Commissioner Piebalgs and FAO Director-General Graziano da Silva in high-level visit

5 March 2013, Brussels/Rome/Lilongwe - During a high level visit to Malawi, EU Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, and José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will meet today with President Joyce Banda to discuss the country's challenges on nutrition and food security, and to underline ongoing EU and FAO support in this area.

Growth Green Agriculture Asks: Why Invest in Ghana?

With strong, broad-based economic growth for close to two decades, Ghana today has reason to be optimistic. The country has enjoyed two peaceful democratic transitions, with a strong civil society and media playing active roles. Ghana also remains on course to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015, with economic growth averaging 6–7 percent since 2005. (World Bank)

UN food agencies staff in Mozambique receive an Award of Excellence

Rome – In acknowledgement of the importance of partnership in tackling global issues, the staff of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have today been recognized for their outstanding work together in Mozambique.
Over the past several years, the UN food agencies’ country teams have collaborated effectively to help improve the country’s food security situation.

Agricultural Investment needed to promote Agro-Forestry, says FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says millions of people could escape poverty, hunger and environmental degradation if countries put more effort into promoting agro-forestry, an integrated approach combining trees with crop or livestock production.
The agro-forestry sector is a significant source both of local commodities such as fuel wood, timber, fruit and fodder for livestock as well as global ones such as coconut, coffee, tea, rubber and gum.

Successful Democratic Election in Ghana attracts French Investment

This coming May Ghana will be hosting many top business executives from France, who will be visiting the country to explore new business opportunities.

Growth Green Agriculture: Dutch company set to invest in Ghana

Louis Dreyfus Commodities, a global merchandiser of commodities and food processing, said it would invest in Ghana to ensure food sufficiency and create jobs.
“With more than 160 years of experience, our portfolio has grown to include oilseeds, grains, feed, rice, freight, finance, juice, cotton, coffee, sugar, metals, dairy and fertilizer,” Mrs Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, Chairman of the Group of Companies, said.

New GIPC boss hired to encourage companies to Invest in Ghana

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama on January 20, 2013 named Ms Mawuena Dumor Trebah, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).

She replaces Mr George Aboagye who resigned late last year. Ms Trebah, was a former head of Corporate Services at MTN Ghana.

The GIPC is a government agency that seeks to encourage, promote and facilitate investments in the country.

Oil Giant Has Big Plans to Invest in Ghana

Global oil giant KOSMOS Energy has announced plans to invest in Ghana with over $275 million being allocated from it's planned capital program for its operations in Ghana and other parts of the globe.

KOSMOS is one of the partners on Ghana’s Jubilee oil field. Their plan to invest in Ghana centres on development activities offshore and amounts to approximately 55% of the total budget, with a further $225 million allocated for exploration and appraisal activities across KOSMOS’ global exploration portfolio.