1. Cocoa production is the main source of livelihood for many farmers in Ghana, though relying solely on cocoa income is difficult as production is seasonal.
2. While interventions have aimed to support cocoa farmers, most are not sustained. Farmers employ diverse livelihood strategies but often lack skills to sustain them.
3. The researcher aims to demonstrate the need for cocoa farmers to have additional stable income sources through improving livelihoods with training and alternative farming enterprises. The research will take place in cocoa farming communities in Sekondi Takoradi.
Rice Value Chain Analysis: A Case of Rice Cooperatives Supported by Deutsche ...Premier Publishers
The marshlands soil fertility; favorable weather, natural water resources, and efficiency manpower make Rwanda highly suitable for rice cultivation. Even there were various supports for the Government of Rwanda and various NGOs like DeutscheWeltHungerHilfe (WHH). There was still a problem of using traditional techniques in rice farming which brings little performance, characterized by a lack of professionalism and inappropriate management of natural resources and small plots for rice producers. This study aimed to find out the level of paddy/rice production, processing, and marketing, and determine the added value through the working efficiency in the Southern Province, Rwanda. The purposely sampling of respondents was done from the rice chain actors, including 48 rice cooperatives, 2 processors, and 120 wholesales, retails, and consumers, mostly in the Southern Province. A well-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected from the field were analyzed through STATA 14 and Microsoft excel. The descriptive statistics (mean, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation) and multiple regressions were used to describe the results. The results pointed out that average rice value chain actors production cost were 223.5[profit: 96.5] rwf/kg(farmers), 150.62[gross profit: 191.88] rwf/kg(Millers), 61.7[profit: 53.3] rwf/kg(wholesales) and 51[profit: 96.5] rwf/kg(Retails). Rice farmers invested much more (money and time) and they were the ones who got low profit compared to others. This study recommends strengthening the technical and organizational capabilities of rice farmers and other value chain actors and builds strong linkages between rice farmers and rice processors companies.
Rice Value Chain Analysis: A Case of Rice Cooperatives Supported by Deutsche ...Premier Publishers
The marshlands soil fertility; favorable weather, natural water resources, and efficiency manpower make Rwanda highly suitable for rice cultivation. Even there were various supports for the Government of Rwanda and various NGOs like DeutscheWeltHungerHilfe (WHH). There was still a problem of using traditional techniques in rice farming which brings little performance, characterized by a lack of professionalism and inappropriate management of natural resources and small plots for rice producers. This study aimed to find out the level of paddy/rice production, processing, and marketing, and determine the added value through the working efficiency in the Southern Province, Rwanda. The purposely sampling of respondents was done from the rice chain actors, including 48 rice cooperatives, 2 processors, and 120 wholesales, retails, and consumers, mostly in the Southern Province. A well-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected from the field were analyzed through STATA 14 and Microsoft excel. The descriptive statistics (mean, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation) and multiple regressions were used to describe the results. The results pointed out that average rice value chain actors production cost were 223.5[profit: 96.5] rwf/kg(farmers), 150.62[gross profit: 191.88] rwf/kg(Millers), 61.7[profit: 53.3] rwf/kg(wholesales) and 51[profit: 96.5] rwf/kg(Retails). Rice farmers invested much more (money and time) and they were the ones who got low profit compared to others. This study recommends strengthening the technical and organizational capabilities of rice farmers and other value chain actors and builds strong linkages between rice farmers and rice processors companies.
PixTV 21 Want More Views and Action? Do YouTube Right.Pixability
To gain access to the full video recording, register for free access at:
http://pixvid.tv/WgdOoQ
YouTube is the #1 video platform – by a mile. And it keeps getting better. It’s also an extremely powerful marketing platform. Together, you and YouTube become a marketing machine where regular and increasing views drive more business. Skeptical? We’re not. Not only have we analyzed more business YouTube channels than any other company on the planet, but we’ve also created and reengineered many more. We know what works.
For this webinar, we’ll share our research and distill effective YouTube strategy. We’re going to teach you how to do YouTube right, combining platform best practices with YouTube marketing essentials. It's a winning combo that's guaranteed to get both your views and business up.
Connect With Pixability:
Twitter | @pixability
Facebook | facebook.com/pixability
e-mail | info@pixability.com
phone | 1-888-PIX-VIDEO
BY
YAOUNDE – CAMEROON 3-5 NOVEMBER 2013
ALANGEH ROMANUS CHE
1ST VICE PRESIDENT OF CNOP-CAM
E-MAIL: cnopcameroun@yahoo.fr
E-mail: alabongalazebong@yahoo.com
The new book from CTA and Cgiar Research Program on Climate Change & Food Security, "Evidence of impact: Climate-smart agriculture in Africa", showcases many innovative climate-smart agriculture practices with the capacity to increase productivity and build resilience in Africa
PixTV 21 Want More Views and Action? Do YouTube Right.Pixability
To gain access to the full video recording, register for free access at:
http://pixvid.tv/WgdOoQ
YouTube is the #1 video platform – by a mile. And it keeps getting better. It’s also an extremely powerful marketing platform. Together, you and YouTube become a marketing machine where regular and increasing views drive more business. Skeptical? We’re not. Not only have we analyzed more business YouTube channels than any other company on the planet, but we’ve also created and reengineered many more. We know what works.
For this webinar, we’ll share our research and distill effective YouTube strategy. We’re going to teach you how to do YouTube right, combining platform best practices with YouTube marketing essentials. It's a winning combo that's guaranteed to get both your views and business up.
Connect With Pixability:
Twitter | @pixability
Facebook | facebook.com/pixability
e-mail | info@pixability.com
phone | 1-888-PIX-VIDEO
BY
YAOUNDE – CAMEROON 3-5 NOVEMBER 2013
ALANGEH ROMANUS CHE
1ST VICE PRESIDENT OF CNOP-CAM
E-MAIL: cnopcameroun@yahoo.fr
E-mail: alabongalazebong@yahoo.com
The new book from CTA and Cgiar Research Program on Climate Change & Food Security, "Evidence of impact: Climate-smart agriculture in Africa", showcases many innovative climate-smart agriculture practices with the capacity to increase productivity and build resilience in Africa
The Brussels Development Briefing n. 59 on “Agroecology for Sustainable Food Systems” organised by CTA, the European Commission/EuropeAid, the ACP Secretariat, CONCORD and IPES-FOOD was held on Wednesday 15 January 2020 (9h00-13h00) at the ACP Secretariat, Avenue Georges Henri 451, 1200 Brussels.
The briefing brought various perspectives and experiences on agroecological systems to support agricultural transformation. Experts presented trends and prospects for agroecological approaches and what it implies for the future of the food systems. Successes and innovative models in agroecology in different parts of the world and the lessons learned for upscaling them were also discussed.
The Brussels Development Briefing n.60 on “The future of food and agricultural transformation” organised by CTA, the European Commission/EuropeAid, the ACP Secretariat and CONCORD was held on Wednesday 26 February 2020 (9h00-13h00) at the ACP Secretariat, Avenue Georges Henri 451, 1200 Brussels.
The briefing presented trends and discussed the sustainable and healthy food systems, the future of work in agriculture and the need for new skills in very complex food chains, the effects of disruptive innovations, fair and inclusive value chains and trade.
The audience was made up of ACP-EU policy-makers and representatives of the EU Member States, civil society groups, research networks and development practitioners, the private sector and international organisations based in Brussels as well as representatives from ACP regional organisations.
Biofortified Sweetpotato as a Key Contributor to Sustainable Agri-Food System...Francois Stepman
Presentation by Jan Low Principal Scientist, International Potato Center (CIP) Nairobi, Kenya.
14-18 June 2021. AERAP Science organised the Africa-Europe Science and Innovation Summit, which aimed to enhance science and innovation cooperation between Africa and Europe.
Exerpt:
The economic landscape of Africa has changed dramatically since the mid-1990s, as stagnation
has given way to dynamism in a broad swath of African countries. From Mozambique’s impressive growth rate (averaging 8% p.a. for more than a decade) to Mali’s success in exporting mangoes and from M-pesa’s mobile phone-based cash transfers to Rwanda’s gorillabased
tourism, Africa is seeing a dramatic transformation. This favorable trend is spurred by, among other things, stronger leadership, better governance, an improving business climate, innovation, market-based solutions, a more involved citizenry, and an increasing reliance on
home-grown solutions. More and more, Africans are driving African development.
The African Success Stories Study is documenting recent African development achievements
across a broad range of areas and topics with a view to: (1) broaden dissemination and
knowledge within the region of the remarkable transformation that is taking place in many
African countries; (2) examine what has worked and why, including re-evaluating some widely
accepted past successes, so as to deepen our understanding of the drivers of success in the
region; and (3) draw practical lessons with a view to informing policies and interventions
1. 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Cocoa production is one of the main sources of economic livelihood for most farmers in
the developing world with which, Ghana is a part. In West Africa Ghana and Cote de Voire are
the major producers of cocoa. Most farm households are supported by income from cocoa,
especially in the main crop season which is from October to June. When the cropping season is
over most cocoa farmers in Ghana become cash trapped in other words they find it very difficult
to afford basic house hold utilities and farm inputs.
There have been interventions by various partners in the cocoa industry of Ghana to
support and sustain the livelihood of cocoa farmers, but to a larger extent most of these
interventions have not been sustained. Cocoa farmers in various cocoa growing areas adopt
various livelihood strategies to help sustain their income, but in most cases cocoa farmers don’t
have the required human capital to sustain such livelihood strategies.
Strengthening livelihoods, especially ensuring increased cocoa production and food
security is one of the main objectives of the cocoa industry in Ghana. Such mandates cannot be
achieved if the income source of cocoa farmers is not diverse. Relying on only cocoa by most
cocoa farmers is not the best.
My research project aims at demonstrating the need to improve the livelihood of cocoa
farmers, with an additional form of economic livelihood. The research project will be undertaken
at the Sekondi Takoradi District of the Ghana COCOBOD. One of the Districts of the cocoa
industry.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION/ JUSTIFICATION
No other country comes to mind more than Ghana when one speaks of cocoa. Likewise,
one cannot think of Ghana without thinking of its cocoa sector, which offers livelihoods for over
700,000 farmers in the southern tropical belt of the country. Long one of Ghana’s main exports,
cocoa has been central to the country’s debates on development, reforms, and poverty alleviation
Strategies since independence in 1957.the cocoa sector in Ghana has not been an unmitigated
success, however.
After emerging as one of the world’s leading producers of cocoa, Ghana experienced a
major decline in production in the 1960s and 1970s, and the sector nearly collapsed in the early
1980s. Production steadily recovered in the mid-1980s after the introduction of economy wide
reforms, and the 1990s marked the beginning of a revival, with production nearly doubling
between 2001 and 2003. Various administrations in Ghana, including the colonial one, have used
cocoa as a source of public revenue, and in so doing the Ghanaian experience offers a recurrent
example of a policy practice followed by many other African countries: taxing the country’s
major export sector to finance public expenditure (Herbst 1993).
Alternative livelihoods can be defined as livelihood activities that supplement peoples
basic income. These activities usually depend on peoples spare time, their skills resources and
art. A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets(including both material and social resources)
and activities and activities required for a means of living (Chambers and Conway, 1992).
2. 2
The mention of alternative livelihoods implicitly suggest several scenarios namely; that
the prevailing livelihoods are either not producing enough benefits for the individual or
communities engaged in them, or that current activities are in contravention of existing
legislations, or pose a danger to the sustainability of other resources. In the context of
agriculture-dominated economies, the resources at risk may be land, forest or water bodies.
Alternative livelihoods are therefore thought of in the context of providing livelihoods that may
replace or supplement existing livelihoods that are in danger in terms of resource constraints, or
those livelihoods that do not generate sufficient incomes to enable those engaged in them live
decent lives (Tropendos 2005).
In improving the livelihood of cocoa farmers then, livelihood asset of cocoa farmers must
be seriously taken into consideration. In doing so several capacity building programs in terms of
a particular livelihood program will be very necessary for cocoa farmers. This will actually go a
long way to improve their knowledge background, of a particular livelihood intervention
program. The livelihood asset in this context refers to people’s strength which is converted into
positive livelihood outcomes.
MAIN AIM OF MY RESEARCH
To improve the livelihood of cocoa farmers with an additional form of farming income
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF MY RESEARCH
To ascertain the number of cocoa farmers engaged in additional livelihood.
To determine the income generated from additional livelihood and cocoa annually by
cocoa farmers
To identify the training needed by cocoa farmers in their preferred economic livelihood
To identify and rank the constraints cocoa farmers face in adding .a different farm
enterprise to their main farm enterprise which is cocoa production.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What is the number of cocoa farmers engaged in additional livelihood?
How much income is generated from additional livelihood annually?
What is the training need of cocoa farmers in their preferred livelihood?
What is the constraints cocoa farmers face in adding additional livelihood to their main
cocoa business?
3. 3
METHODOLOGY
Objective one will be achieved by the use of descriptive statistics
Objective two will be achieved by the use of P test comparing means after the income
generated from cocoa and additional livelihood have been deduced.
Objective three will be achieved by the use of Context analysis by reviewing literature
which talks about training of farmers on additional livelihood.
Objective four will be achieved by using Friedman ranking, where the various
constraints, to engaging in additional livelihood will be identified and ranked.
REFERENCES
Baah, F (2011a) Rapid Assessment of Alternative or Additional Livelihood for cocoa farmers in
the Western Region of Ghana: A consultancy report on identified good practices and their
replicability submitted to the ILO/IPEC office, Accra, 20pp.
Baah, F (2011b) Availability and Viability of alternative and / or additional livelihood activities
in ILO/IPEC target communities in the Western Region of Ghana: A consultancy report
submitted to ILO/IPEC Office, Accra.
Casley, D.J. and Kumar, K. (1988). The collection, Analysis, and the use of Monitoring and
Evaluation Data. Washington D. C: The World Bank / John Hopkins University Press.
CRIG (2010). Cocoa Manual : A source book for sustainable cocoa production. Tafo: Cocoa
Research Institute of Ghana.
MASDAR (1998). Socio-economic Study of Cocoa Farming in Ghana. Consultancy Report,
Accra: Ghana Cocoa Board / MASDAR International Consultants.
MMYE (2008). Labour survey of cocoa farming households in Ghana. Accra: National
programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa / Ghana Cocoa Board.