Wednesday, October 18, 2006
West African states betting on agriculture to create jobs and tackle illegal immigration: Ghana & Senegal
Ghana
Irrigation is a priority, but a number of measures are being taken to boost crops.
Ghana's recent economic growth has been driven largely by the agricultural sector, the largest sector of the economy accounting for nearly half of the total GDP and about 60% of local employment. The sector grew by 7.5% in 2004 and was estimated to have expanded by 6.5% in 2005. Favourable weather has been the main factor behind the rise in agricultural output. However, higher producer prices and greater use of farm machinery and irrigation were also important.
Rising cocoa production has underpinned the growth. It rose by nearly 30% in 2004 yielding a record crop of 736,911 tonnes in the 2004/05 season. Cocoa output decreased somewhat to 583,109 tonnes in the 2004/05 crop season, which nonetheless represented a strong performance by historical standards. The strong cocoa output in both seasons owed much to improved management and to the mass spraying of cocoa farms under the government's Cocoa Pests Control Programme, which aims to control capsid pest and black pod disease. The gradual increase in the domestic producer price of cocoa, which is now nearly 70% of the world price, has also provided a major incentive to the country's smallholder cocoa farmers. However, due to declining world prices of cocoa since 2003, even maintaining guaranteed price levels would be a challenge.
Cocoa and other crops, especially oil palm, cassava, sorghum, and millet have benefited from the Presidential Special Initiatives, which aim to modernise Ghanaian agriculture though the dissemination of better farming practices, the provision of irrigation facilities, and distribution of improved varieties of seeds and fertilisers. Ghana is now self-sufficient in most of its basic food items, including maize, cassava, yam and plantain. As part of the second Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II), the government is expanding the initiatives in 2006 through measures to enhance access to credit and agricultural inputs and by increasing availability of extension services.
Nonetheless, the agricultural sector faces major structural problems. For example, it estimated that only 5% of irrigable land in Ghana is irrigated. The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Ernest Debrah, concedes this anomaly but says measures are underway to irrigate most of the country's farmland. "Currently only 8,800 hectares out of a total farming land of about 120,000 sq kms is irrigated. Out of this the equipment for about 3,000 hectares needs rehabilitation which we are doing now," he told NewsAfrica. He says the government recognises irrigation as vital for successful farming, therefore it is embarking on the construction of small irrigation systems throughout the country.
The government's efforts to improve agriculture are not restricted to irrigation. The measures being taken to achieve food security include the application of science and technology and research and development (R&D). "We are collaborating with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to get us better planting materials and breeds. We are also funding the Savannah Industrial Research Institute in Tamel [in northern Ghana], which has produced three high-yield cotton seeds, two of which are undergoing field trials," Debrah discloses. Another aspect of the modernisation is to encourage farmers to abandon the traditional usage of hoes and cutlasses by introducing mechanised farming.
Another bane of Ghana's agricultural sector is post-harvest losses. Statistics show that about 40% of all agricultural output is wasted annually due to inadequate storage facilities, marketing chains and poor infrastructure. To address this, the government is constructing a fruit terminal with cold storage facilities at the port of Tema, near Accra, to deal with fruit and vegetable exports. "When completed in October 2006, Ghana will be able to export about 300,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables annually," the minister declared. In addition, the African Development Bank (ADB) is funding the erection of pack houses as well as the purchase of refrigerated vans to transport horticultural produce to the port. The construction of feeder roads is also another component of the government's road infrastructure programme that is currently underway all over the country.
As a result of the good performance of the agricultural sector, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has approached the government to establish a food depot in Ghana. The deal, worth at least $10m per year, involved buying Ghana food items for its emergency food supplies in the sub-region. (NewsAfrica, August)
Senegal
The president hopes REVA will stem illegal immigration.
Senegal's "Return to Agriculture" (REVA) project will not only cater to the needs of the population, especially the youth and women, it will also help to check illegal emigration to Europe, Agriculture, Rural Water and Food Security Minister, Farba Senghor has said. "Meeting the goals of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Document and the Accelerated Growth Strategy, this plan intends, among other goals, to tackle illegal emigration and rural exodus by creating conditions for voluntary return to the land," the Minister told a press conference.
He said the US$60m project would work through integrated development centres and the promotion of private initiatives in the agro-industrial sector.
The scheme, expected to cover the entire country, was initiated by President Abdoulaye Wade to stem illegal emigration by Senegalese youth to Europe.
For its pilot phase, authorities plan to set up 550 integrated development centres for agricultural cultivation, market gardening and the development of village farms.
"During the extension phase, from 2008 to 2015, the REVA will seek to meet the challenges of the agricultural sector as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Accelerated Growth Strategy," Senghor said, adding that the scheme could create some 300,000 direct and indirect jobs during the pilot phase. (PANA, Dakar, 18/7)
Irrigation is a priority, but a number of measures are being taken to boost crops.
Ghana's recent economic growth has been driven largely by the agricultural sector, the largest sector of the economy accounting for nearly half of the total GDP and about 60% of local employment. The sector grew by 7.5% in 2004 and was estimated to have expanded by 6.5% in 2005. Favourable weather has been the main factor behind the rise in agricultural output. However, higher producer prices and greater use of farm machinery and irrigation were also important.
Rising cocoa production has underpinned the growth. It rose by nearly 30% in 2004 yielding a record crop of 736,911 tonnes in the 2004/05 season. Cocoa output decreased somewhat to 583,109 tonnes in the 2004/05 crop season, which nonetheless represented a strong performance by historical standards. The strong cocoa output in both seasons owed much to improved management and to the mass spraying of cocoa farms under the government's Cocoa Pests Control Programme, which aims to control capsid pest and black pod disease. The gradual increase in the domestic producer price of cocoa, which is now nearly 70% of the world price, has also provided a major incentive to the country's smallholder cocoa farmers. However, due to declining world prices of cocoa since 2003, even maintaining guaranteed price levels would be a challenge.
Cocoa and other crops, especially oil palm, cassava, sorghum, and millet have benefited from the Presidential Special Initiatives, which aim to modernise Ghanaian agriculture though the dissemination of better farming practices, the provision of irrigation facilities, and distribution of improved varieties of seeds and fertilisers. Ghana is now self-sufficient in most of its basic food items, including maize, cassava, yam and plantain. As part of the second Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II), the government is expanding the initiatives in 2006 through measures to enhance access to credit and agricultural inputs and by increasing availability of extension services.
Nonetheless, the agricultural sector faces major structural problems. For example, it estimated that only 5% of irrigable land in Ghana is irrigated. The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Ernest Debrah, concedes this anomaly but says measures are underway to irrigate most of the country's farmland. "Currently only 8,800 hectares out of a total farming land of about 120,000 sq kms is irrigated. Out of this the equipment for about 3,000 hectares needs rehabilitation which we are doing now," he told NewsAfrica. He says the government recognises irrigation as vital for successful farming, therefore it is embarking on the construction of small irrigation systems throughout the country.
The government's efforts to improve agriculture are not restricted to irrigation. The measures being taken to achieve food security include the application of science and technology and research and development (R&D). "We are collaborating with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to get us better planting materials and breeds. We are also funding the Savannah Industrial Research Institute in Tamel [in northern Ghana], which has produced three high-yield cotton seeds, two of which are undergoing field trials," Debrah discloses. Another aspect of the modernisation is to encourage farmers to abandon the traditional usage of hoes and cutlasses by introducing mechanised farming.
Another bane of Ghana's agricultural sector is post-harvest losses. Statistics show that about 40% of all agricultural output is wasted annually due to inadequate storage facilities, marketing chains and poor infrastructure. To address this, the government is constructing a fruit terminal with cold storage facilities at the port of Tema, near Accra, to deal with fruit and vegetable exports. "When completed in October 2006, Ghana will be able to export about 300,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables annually," the minister declared. In addition, the African Development Bank (ADB) is funding the erection of pack houses as well as the purchase of refrigerated vans to transport horticultural produce to the port. The construction of feeder roads is also another component of the government's road infrastructure programme that is currently underway all over the country.
As a result of the good performance of the agricultural sector, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has approached the government to establish a food depot in Ghana. The deal, worth at least $10m per year, involved buying Ghana food items for its emergency food supplies in the sub-region. (NewsAfrica, August)
Senegal
The president hopes REVA will stem illegal immigration.
Senegal's "Return to Agriculture" (REVA) project will not only cater to the needs of the population, especially the youth and women, it will also help to check illegal emigration to Europe, Agriculture, Rural Water and Food Security Minister, Farba Senghor has said. "Meeting the goals of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Document and the Accelerated Growth Strategy, this plan intends, among other goals, to tackle illegal emigration and rural exodus by creating conditions for voluntary return to the land," the Minister told a press conference.
He said the US$60m project would work through integrated development centres and the promotion of private initiatives in the agro-industrial sector.
The scheme, expected to cover the entire country, was initiated by President Abdoulaye Wade to stem illegal emigration by Senegalese youth to Europe.
For its pilot phase, authorities plan to set up 550 integrated development centres for agricultural cultivation, market gardening and the development of village farms.
"During the extension phase, from 2008 to 2015, the REVA will seek to meet the challenges of the agricultural sector as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Accelerated Growth Strategy," Senghor said, adding that the scheme could create some 300,000 direct and indirect jobs during the pilot phase. (PANA, Dakar, 18/7)
UN’s agricultural development agency packages new loan to help Senegal
16 October 2006 –
The United Nations agricultural development agency has helped assemble a $47 million aid package to benefit small farmers in Senegal, who are battling erratic rainfall, eroding quality and declining prices of their main products, groundnuts and cotton.
The loan, which includes $20 million in co-financing from the World Bank – and roughly the same amount from the Senegalese government and producers organizations – will be for extending critical agricultural advisory services to all 320 rural councils in the country.
Agriculture is the livelihood for 60 per cent of Senegalese households but three-quarters of the rural people live in poverty, according to a statement from the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is providing $6 million in a loan.
Another $300,000 from IFAD is a grant to provide services and to strengthen producer organizations, to help small farmers network around the country on local development issues to better defend small holders’ interests.
The loan will also support agricultural research and government ministries responsible for agriculture, to assist police development and coordination, IFAD said.
Since it started operations in 1978, IFAD has provided more than $133 million in loans to Senegal to support 13 projects and programmes.
IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 188 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling $6.3billion. IFAD has invested more than US$2.9 billion in these initiatives, with the rest coming in as co-financing from governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners.
The United Nations agricultural development agency has helped assemble a $47 million aid package to benefit small farmers in Senegal, who are battling erratic rainfall, eroding quality and declining prices of their main products, groundnuts and cotton.
The loan, which includes $20 million in co-financing from the World Bank – and roughly the same amount from the Senegalese government and producers organizations – will be for extending critical agricultural advisory services to all 320 rural councils in the country.
Agriculture is the livelihood for 60 per cent of Senegalese households but three-quarters of the rural people live in poverty, according to a statement from the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is providing $6 million in a loan.
Another $300,000 from IFAD is a grant to provide services and to strengthen producer organizations, to help small farmers network around the country on local development issues to better defend small holders’ interests.
The loan will also support agricultural research and government ministries responsible for agriculture, to assist police development and coordination, IFAD said.
Since it started operations in 1978, IFAD has provided more than $133 million in loans to Senegal to support 13 projects and programmes.
IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 188 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling $6.3billion. IFAD has invested more than US$2.9 billion in these initiatives, with the rest coming in as co-financing from governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Press release: Youth unemployment a ‘ticking bomb’ for security in West Africa: UN study
Youth unemployment a ‘ticking bomb’ for security in West Africa: UN study
Increasing levels of youth unemployment in impoverished West Africa, where almost three quarters of the population is under 30, poses a serious threat to the security and stability of the whole region, the United Nations Special Representative for the area warned today, highlighting the findings of a UN study looking at ways to diffuse this “ticking bomb.”Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for West Africa, said prospects for peace in the war-wracked region were limited because of the frustrations and social instability caused by so many young people not having jobs, his Office (UNOWA) said in a press release issued from Senegal.
“The future of the entire region is threatened by the growing numbers of youth who lack prospects of ever being able to work for a reasonable living. Until this situation changes, the likelihood of having genuine peace, security and development in West Africa will remain small,” Mr. Ould-Abdallah said.
The Special Representative briefed a panel in New York earlier this week on ways to improve the situation, which was described as a “ticking bomb” for West Africa. The report outlined several priorities, including the need to combat corruption, ways to involve the private sector more and how to improve schemes for apprenticeship and vocational training of young people.
“Unemployment feeds violence, and violence feeds unemployment,” Mr. Ould-Abdallah, told reporters on Thursday, again emphasizing the linkage between unemployed youths and violence, and calling on national Governments in the region to review their job-creation practices.
Recommendations from UNOWA’s “Youth Unemployment and Regional Insecurity in West Africa” study were directed at governments of the sub-region, donor countries, international organizations and the private sector. This week’s panel meeting in New York was preparation for the upcoming high-level UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) gathering that will focus on “productive employment and decent work for all.”
Source: United Nations News Service
Increasing levels of youth unemployment in impoverished West Africa, where almost three quarters of the population is under 30, poses a serious threat to the security and stability of the whole region, the United Nations Special Representative for the area warned today, highlighting the findings of a UN study looking at ways to diffuse this “ticking bomb.”Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for West Africa, said prospects for peace in the war-wracked region were limited because of the frustrations and social instability caused by so many young people not having jobs, his Office (UNOWA) said in a press release issued from Senegal.
“The future of the entire region is threatened by the growing numbers of youth who lack prospects of ever being able to work for a reasonable living. Until this situation changes, the likelihood of having genuine peace, security and development in West Africa will remain small,” Mr. Ould-Abdallah said.
The Special Representative briefed a panel in New York earlier this week on ways to improve the situation, which was described as a “ticking bomb” for West Africa. The report outlined several priorities, including the need to combat corruption, ways to involve the private sector more and how to improve schemes for apprenticeship and vocational training of young people.
“Unemployment feeds violence, and violence feeds unemployment,” Mr. Ould-Abdallah, told reporters on Thursday, again emphasizing the linkage between unemployed youths and violence, and calling on national Governments in the region to review their job-creation practices.
Recommendations from UNOWA’s “Youth Unemployment and Regional Insecurity in West Africa” study were directed at governments of the sub-region, donor countries, international organizations and the private sector. This week’s panel meeting in New York was preparation for the upcoming high-level UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) gathering that will focus on “productive employment and decent work for all.”
Source: United Nations News Service
YEN in W.Africa
Ok. Work wise: Started 6 weeks ago. took me a couple of weeks to get settled in, get a desk (which should change in a few days, with the completion of he YEN wing of the UNOWA offices)
The new YEN unit that is to be set up as part of the UNOWA structure here will have specific mandates:
1. Serve as a clearing house for the collection and monitoring of information, documentation and statistics regarding youth employment in the West Africa sub-region;
2. Liaise with relevant national and regional authorities in the elaboration of National Action Plans on Youth Employment;
3. Help co-ordinate youth projects and activities and generally monitor progress at a regional level;
4. Help co-ordinate resource-mobilization among development partners, aimed at addressing employment issues. Although it is based in Dakar, the YEN unit covers all ECOWAS.
The situation here is particular in the sense that the YEN will have a regional scope. The goal is to be working with the 16 ECOWAS countries to tackle the YE issues for many reasons:Youth Employment is not only an economic issue, but rather a social, security and international issue for West Africa. Unemployment feeds off and creates conflict! Unemployment leads to desperate attempts to flee one's own country in tremendously dangerous ventures to reach the coasts of Spain or Italy in search for a better life. Unemployment leads youth to loose hope and turn to "war-entrepreneurs" as an outlet.
In order to tackle these pressing issues, the YEN will have to work with all the ECOWAS states to devise a regional strategy that will limit trafficking, illegal movements while promoting integration and harmonization of best practices. For your reference, a Study has been done on Youth Unemployment and Insecurity in West Africa, which is pretty much self explainatory: The issue of YE in West Africa is primordial and touches upon nearly every aspect of everyday life out here. West Africa has known and is still amidst growing civil and armed conflicts, youth unemployment is both a cause and a consequence of this alarming situation. Because the unit is working with UNOWA, who, as related to the UN Security Council has a peace keeping mandate, the later component has to be present in all initiatives. The unit just recently completed recruiting of a YE specialist to start in about a month.
The first task will be the writing of a Best Practices and policies evaluation for YE in W.A. This week, a few decisions were made:
- Firstly, in collaboration with UNIDO/YEN, the candidate was actually selected and informed of the decision.
- The creation of a workgroup to begin work in evaluating practical activities to be undertaken by the YEN
- A timeframe for future activities - Some progress was made in terms of data collection
The new YEN unit that is to be set up as part of the UNOWA structure here will have specific mandates:
1. Serve as a clearing house for the collection and monitoring of information, documentation and statistics regarding youth employment in the West Africa sub-region;
2. Liaise with relevant national and regional authorities in the elaboration of National Action Plans on Youth Employment;
3. Help co-ordinate youth projects and activities and generally monitor progress at a regional level;
4. Help co-ordinate resource-mobilization among development partners, aimed at addressing employment issues. Although it is based in Dakar, the YEN unit covers all ECOWAS.
The situation here is particular in the sense that the YEN will have a regional scope. The goal is to be working with the 16 ECOWAS countries to tackle the YE issues for many reasons:Youth Employment is not only an economic issue, but rather a social, security and international issue for West Africa. Unemployment feeds off and creates conflict! Unemployment leads to desperate attempts to flee one's own country in tremendously dangerous ventures to reach the coasts of Spain or Italy in search for a better life. Unemployment leads youth to loose hope and turn to "war-entrepreneurs" as an outlet.
In order to tackle these pressing issues, the YEN will have to work with all the ECOWAS states to devise a regional strategy that will limit trafficking, illegal movements while promoting integration and harmonization of best practices. For your reference, a Study has been done on Youth Unemployment and Insecurity in West Africa, which is pretty much self explainatory: The issue of YE in West Africa is primordial and touches upon nearly every aspect of everyday life out here. West Africa has known and is still amidst growing civil and armed conflicts, youth unemployment is both a cause and a consequence of this alarming situation. Because the unit is working with UNOWA, who, as related to the UN Security Council has a peace keeping mandate, the later component has to be present in all initiatives. The unit just recently completed recruiting of a YE specialist to start in about a month.
The first task will be the writing of a Best Practices and policies evaluation for YE in W.A. This week, a few decisions were made:
- Firstly, in collaboration with UNIDO/YEN, the candidate was actually selected and informed of the decision.
- The creation of a workgroup to begin work in evaluating practical activities to be undertaken by the YEN
- A timeframe for future activities - Some progress was made in terms of data collection
The YEN
Cheers ever1,
I am on assignment in Dakar until march 27th 2007! I'll be working in the Youth Employment Network unit, ubicated in the United Nation Office for West Africa, representing the Canadian International Development Agency.
What is the YEN, and why does it exist? (briefly explained)
The present
More than 1 billion people today are between 15 and 25 years of age and nearly 40 per cent of the world's population is below the age of 20. Eighty-five per cent of these young people live in developing countries where many are especially vulnerable to extreme poverty.The International Labour Office estimates that around 88.2 million young women and men are unemployed throughout the world, accounting for 47 per cent of all the 185.9 million unemployed persons globally, and many more young people are working long hours for low pay, struggling to eke out a living in the informal economy.There are an estimated 59 million young people between 15 and 17 years of age who are engaged in hazardous forms of work. Young people actively seeking to participate in the world of work are two to three times more likely than older generations to find themselves unemployed.
The future
1 billion people will become of working age within the next decade. While rapid globalisation and technological change offer new opportunities for productive work and incomes for the lucky few, for many working age young people, these trends increase the vulnerability inherent in the transition from childhood to adulthood.Whait is the YEN?The YEN was created under the impetus of the Millennium Declaration, where the largest gathering of Heads of State and Government ever met at the Millennium Summit in September 2000 and resolved to " develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work."In preparation for the Millennium Summit the Secretary-General issued a report entitled "We the Peoples: the Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century." Here the Secretary-General first proposed his Youth Employment Network:Together with the heads of the World Bank and the International Labour Organization, I am convening a High-Level Policy Network on youth employment drawing on the most creative leaders in private industry, civil society and economic policy to explore imaginative approaches to this difficult challenge. I will ask this policy network to propose a set of recommendations that I can convey to world leaders within a year.
I am on assignment in Dakar until march 27th 2007! I'll be working in the Youth Employment Network unit, ubicated in the United Nation Office for West Africa, representing the Canadian International Development Agency.
What is the YEN, and why does it exist? (briefly explained)
The present
More than 1 billion people today are between 15 and 25 years of age and nearly 40 per cent of the world's population is below the age of 20. Eighty-five per cent of these young people live in developing countries where many are especially vulnerable to extreme poverty.The International Labour Office estimates that around 88.2 million young women and men are unemployed throughout the world, accounting for 47 per cent of all the 185.9 million unemployed persons globally, and many more young people are working long hours for low pay, struggling to eke out a living in the informal economy.There are an estimated 59 million young people between 15 and 17 years of age who are engaged in hazardous forms of work. Young people actively seeking to participate in the world of work are two to three times more likely than older generations to find themselves unemployed.
The future
1 billion people will become of working age within the next decade. While rapid globalisation and technological change offer new opportunities for productive work and incomes for the lucky few, for many working age young people, these trends increase the vulnerability inherent in the transition from childhood to adulthood.Whait is the YEN?The YEN was created under the impetus of the Millennium Declaration, where the largest gathering of Heads of State and Government ever met at the Millennium Summit in September 2000 and resolved to " develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work."In preparation for the Millennium Summit the Secretary-General issued a report entitled "We the Peoples: the Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century." Here the Secretary-General first proposed his Youth Employment Network:Together with the heads of the World Bank and the International Labour Organization, I am convening a High-Level Policy Network on youth employment drawing on the most creative leaders in private industry, civil society and economic policy to explore imaginative approaches to this difficult challenge. I will ask this policy network to propose a set of recommendations that I can convey to world leaders within a year.
