THIRTY small-scale pineapple farmers in the country increased their exports to the European and North American markets from 26 tonnes in 2006 to 166 tonnes last year under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).
That was after they had obtained organic certification to export to that country.
A Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Yaw Effah Baafi, made this known when he addressed an international conference on organic agriculture as a business in Accra.
The four-day conference was organised by the Washington State University and the US Department of Agriculture to present the latest information on obtaining certification, finding buyers and the kinds of organic products that are in great demand in the $46-billion organic foods trade.
Opening the conference, Mr Baafi urged Ghanaian farmers to take advantage of AGOA to export organic foods and products to the US to earn foreign exchange for the country.
He explained that developing countries such as Ghana were facing numerous challenges, including soil degradation, food security and climate change, which did not augur well for agriculture.
He said it was, therefore, opportune for farmers in the country to practise organic farming as a means of increasing soil fertility without the use of agro-chemicals.
He observed that most farmers in the country applied agro-chemicals wrongly, with devastating effects on the environment and water bodies as fish stocks and other eco-systems got destroyed by the toxins.
He said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture regarded organic agriculture as an intervention that was to assuage the years of destruction of the environment, as well as ensure food security within the shortest possible time.
Mr Baafi observed that yields from organic farms were much better than those from the conventional type of agriculture where soil had become degraded due to over-reliance on chemical fertilisers.
Mr David Granatstein of the Washington State University said demand for certified organic foods and products had been growing steadily over the past decade.
He said as a result, efforts were under way in Africa to develop opportunities for trade in organic products.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
2,000 CATERERS ATTEN FOOD SAFETY COURSE (PAGE 20, JUNE 8, 2010)
TWO thousand traditional caterers, popularly known as “chop-bar operators” throughout the country are undergoing training in business management, customer service and food safety.
The training programme which started in the Greater Accra Region with the first batch of 200 traditional caterers at the Entrepreneurship Training Institute was to also show the participants the relationship between nutrition and exercise in helping to maintain good health.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Rector of the Institute, Prof. Reginald T.A. Ocansey, said traditional caterers had a role to play in checking obesity, which is rearing its ugly head in the country by beginning to ask their clientele questions as well as providing health tips.
He said when traditional caterers were well trained, they could help in preventing communicable diseases by keeping their environment clean.
That, he said, could encourage more customers to patronise local dishes and contribute meaningfully to the economic growth of the country.
Prof. Ocansey said when the maintenance of good healthy habit was inculcated in the traditional caterers, they could pass it on to the entire population since most Ghanaians patronised the food prepared by traditional caterers.
He advised traditional caterers to stop being in the catering business only to make money but to regard themselves as health agents who served hygienic and nutritious food.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive 0fficer of Homefoods Processing and Cannery Limited, Mrs Felicia Twumasi, urged the women to stop using their business capital for weddings and funerals since that could lead to the depletion of their capital.
She, therefore, advised them to inculcate the habits of savings and good record keeping to ensure that they qualified for micro financing to expand their businesses.
Mrs Twumasi also implored them to expand their businesses into related fields instead of moving from one unrelated business to another.
Ms Maureen Erekua Odoi of African Aurora Business Network (AABN), one of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which organised the eating business programme, (eatbiz) in collaboration with Indigenous Caterers Association of Ghana, said the year-long training programme would be conducted in all the regions for the 2,000 caterers who had been selected to help mainstream the catering service into the economic development of the country.
The training programme which started in the Greater Accra Region with the first batch of 200 traditional caterers at the Entrepreneurship Training Institute was to also show the participants the relationship between nutrition and exercise in helping to maintain good health.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Rector of the Institute, Prof. Reginald T.A. Ocansey, said traditional caterers had a role to play in checking obesity, which is rearing its ugly head in the country by beginning to ask their clientele questions as well as providing health tips.
He said when traditional caterers were well trained, they could help in preventing communicable diseases by keeping their environment clean.
That, he said, could encourage more customers to patronise local dishes and contribute meaningfully to the economic growth of the country.
Prof. Ocansey said when the maintenance of good healthy habit was inculcated in the traditional caterers, they could pass it on to the entire population since most Ghanaians patronised the food prepared by traditional caterers.
He advised traditional caterers to stop being in the catering business only to make money but to regard themselves as health agents who served hygienic and nutritious food.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive 0fficer of Homefoods Processing and Cannery Limited, Mrs Felicia Twumasi, urged the women to stop using their business capital for weddings and funerals since that could lead to the depletion of their capital.
She, therefore, advised them to inculcate the habits of savings and good record keeping to ensure that they qualified for micro financing to expand their businesses.
Mrs Twumasi also implored them to expand their businesses into related fields instead of moving from one unrelated business to another.
Ms Maureen Erekua Odoi of African Aurora Business Network (AABN), one of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which organised the eating business programme, (eatbiz) in collaboration with Indigenous Caterers Association of Ghana, said the year-long training programme would be conducted in all the regions for the 2,000 caterers who had been selected to help mainstream the catering service into the economic development of the country.
Monday, June 7, 2010
USE MARKETING TOOLS EFFECTIVELY (PAGE 25, JUNE 7, 2010)
THE Head of Marketing of Unilever Group of Companies, Mr Akofa Ata, has called on corporate organisations to use social communication tools such as twitter and facebook to reach out to customers.
He stressed that it was not shameful for marketing branches of companies to resort to social communication tools to communicate with their customers in order to understand them and model products that would meet their desire.
He explained that marketing branches that ignored the power of Information, Communication and Technology and all its tools for reaching customers were doing more harm than good to themselves and their companies.
Speaking on the topic: “How to Get to Grips with Your Competitors” as part of the series of educational lectures instituted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG), Mr Ata said marketers could not function any more in the information economy without knowing the use of social communication tools and applying them in their work.
He also urged companies to invest heavily in advertising and make their goods affordable to attract customers to their products.
He said this could lead their competitors to incur losses because their goods would be priced costly and would drive customers away to those that were affordable.
He said any company which was a leader in a certain segment of the market must not wait for competitors to make inroads into that segment before preparing catch-up and follow-up strategies to fend off the competitors, since that would not work out satisfactorily and it could led to the company losing the fight.
Mr Ata therefore advised companies with a market lead not to play with their competitors but to hit them hard through strategies so that they would not be able to withstand the competition from the onset.
He explained that they could win the competition when they leveraged their strength as soon as they spotted a competitor.
Mrs Josephine Okutu, President of CIMG, said the topics for the educational series were carefully chosen to reflect exactly on what was happening in the business front, as well as in the market place.
She urged corporate organisations to allow their staff, especially those in the marketing branches, to partake in the educational series, since it would impact positively on their organisations.
He stressed that it was not shameful for marketing branches of companies to resort to social communication tools to communicate with their customers in order to understand them and model products that would meet their desire.
He explained that marketing branches that ignored the power of Information, Communication and Technology and all its tools for reaching customers were doing more harm than good to themselves and their companies.
Speaking on the topic: “How to Get to Grips with Your Competitors” as part of the series of educational lectures instituted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG), Mr Ata said marketers could not function any more in the information economy without knowing the use of social communication tools and applying them in their work.
He also urged companies to invest heavily in advertising and make their goods affordable to attract customers to their products.
He said this could lead their competitors to incur losses because their goods would be priced costly and would drive customers away to those that were affordable.
He said any company which was a leader in a certain segment of the market must not wait for competitors to make inroads into that segment before preparing catch-up and follow-up strategies to fend off the competitors, since that would not work out satisfactorily and it could led to the company losing the fight.
Mr Ata therefore advised companies with a market lead not to play with their competitors but to hit them hard through strategies so that they would not be able to withstand the competition from the onset.
He explained that they could win the competition when they leveraged their strength as soon as they spotted a competitor.
Mrs Josephine Okutu, President of CIMG, said the topics for the educational series were carefully chosen to reflect exactly on what was happening in the business front, as well as in the market place.
She urged corporate organisations to allow their staff, especially those in the marketing branches, to partake in the educational series, since it would impact positively on their organisations.
Friday, June 4, 2010
MET LIFE LAUNCHES SCHEME FOR MUSLIMS (PAGE 29, JUNE 4, 2010)
AN insurance scheme designed to meet the life insurance and investment needs of the Muslim community has been introduced onto the Ghanaian market.
The Labaika scheme, the first of its kind on the Ghanaian market, is based on the stringent requirements of Sharia, which regards high interest rates as unislamic.
Speaking at the launch of the new product the Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Life Insurance, Mr Diop Frimpong, said the main purpose of the product was to provide a Sharia compliant investment product for the Muslim community.
He explained that the Labaika product was based on the purest concept of mutual help and social solidarity and was based on the principles of Sharia.
He said it was also to promote the concept of equality, and provided fixed sums should death occur during the term of the insurance irrespective of age, sex, social status and occupation.
Mr Frimpong said the Labaika product was a meaningful way of saving towards the financial requirements of the Hajj.
He said the scheme was also to provide a good opportunity for parents to save towards the increasing cost of education. Mr Frimpong appealed to Muslim communities to patronise the scheme since Metropolitan Life Insurance was offering them a product which respected their faith.
Mrs Nyamikeh Kyiamah , the acting Commissioner of Insurance said the insurance industry had seen a tremendous growth during the last few years mainly due to the improvements in the country’s macroeconomics environment and the emergence of appropriate products on the market.
She said the total life premium income grew from GH¢22 million in 2004 to about GH¢90 million in 2008
She said the life insurance industry had made significant progress in the last few years but still there remained much to be done to reach out to the informal sector.
The Labaika scheme, the first of its kind on the Ghanaian market, is based on the stringent requirements of Sharia, which regards high interest rates as unislamic.
Speaking at the launch of the new product the Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Life Insurance, Mr Diop Frimpong, said the main purpose of the product was to provide a Sharia compliant investment product for the Muslim community.
He explained that the Labaika product was based on the purest concept of mutual help and social solidarity and was based on the principles of Sharia.
He said it was also to promote the concept of equality, and provided fixed sums should death occur during the term of the insurance irrespective of age, sex, social status and occupation.
Mr Frimpong said the Labaika product was a meaningful way of saving towards the financial requirements of the Hajj.
He said the scheme was also to provide a good opportunity for parents to save towards the increasing cost of education. Mr Frimpong appealed to Muslim communities to patronise the scheme since Metropolitan Life Insurance was offering them a product which respected their faith.
Mrs Nyamikeh Kyiamah , the acting Commissioner of Insurance said the insurance industry had seen a tremendous growth during the last few years mainly due to the improvements in the country’s macroeconomics environment and the emergence of appropriate products on the market.
She said the total life premium income grew from GH¢22 million in 2004 to about GH¢90 million in 2008
She said the life insurance industry had made significant progress in the last few years but still there remained much to be done to reach out to the informal sector.
Monday, May 31, 2010
13,000 STUDENTS EMBARK ON AIDS AWARENESS PROGRAMME (SPREAD, MAY 31, 2010)
Thirteen thousand students from junior and senior high schools nation wide last year took part in HIV/AIDS awareness creation projects designed to prevent the spread of the disease in the country.
The awareness creation campaign, which was undertaken by the students themselves, was to break the barrier of age which sometimes worked against HIV/AIDS campaigns.
The project offered opportunities to the youth to relate stories on HIV/AIDS to their fellow youth, thereby removing the communication gaps which usually existed between the youth and adults.
The acting President of AIESEC, the world’s largest students organisation, Ms Lydia Elim Andrews, said the organisation provided students with the opportunity to develop themselves by avoiding HIV/AIDS, one of the killer diseases affecting the youth worldwide.
She said the Ghana branch of AIESEC also implemented three projects for young entrepreneurs in 2009, including Information and Communications Technology training for students of the University of Ghana, the Central University College and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Ms Andrews said as part of its achievements in 2009, AIESEC offered opportunities to 200 students to benefit from exchange programmes with other international bodies.
She said only five Ghanaian students were able to travel outside for the exchange programme because of financial constraints and appealed to corporate organisations to assist the organisation in its efforts at training the future leaders of the country.
She said in 2009, AIESEC also assisted in the organisation of Afritour, which was aimed at attracting more tourists into the country and generating foreign exchange for the development of tourism sites in the country.
Ms Andrews said a year-long programme of activities had been drawn up to mark the 50th anniversary of AIESEC, beginning from July this year to July 2011.
Newly elected executive members of AIESEC for 2011 were introduced at the dinner and awards night.
Mr Kwesi Tabiri Fosu, the new President of the organisation, will preside over the projects for 2011.
The dinner also saw the presentation of certificates to a number of institutions for assisting the students movement to undertake projects.
Some of the award-winning organisations were the Ghana Immigration Service for assisting AIESEC members to go through immigration formalities without undue hindrances and delays, the Central University College, the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana for running the best AIESEC programmes and projects and for their membership drive.
Another institution that was singled out for awards was Standard Chartered Bank, which sponsored most of the projects and programmes of AIESEC, while Toyota Ghana received commendation for sponsoring the awards nights.
The awareness creation campaign, which was undertaken by the students themselves, was to break the barrier of age which sometimes worked against HIV/AIDS campaigns.
The project offered opportunities to the youth to relate stories on HIV/AIDS to their fellow youth, thereby removing the communication gaps which usually existed between the youth and adults.
The acting President of AIESEC, the world’s largest students organisation, Ms Lydia Elim Andrews, said the organisation provided students with the opportunity to develop themselves by avoiding HIV/AIDS, one of the killer diseases affecting the youth worldwide.
She said the Ghana branch of AIESEC also implemented three projects for young entrepreneurs in 2009, including Information and Communications Technology training for students of the University of Ghana, the Central University College and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Ms Andrews said as part of its achievements in 2009, AIESEC offered opportunities to 200 students to benefit from exchange programmes with other international bodies.
She said only five Ghanaian students were able to travel outside for the exchange programme because of financial constraints and appealed to corporate organisations to assist the organisation in its efforts at training the future leaders of the country.
She said in 2009, AIESEC also assisted in the organisation of Afritour, which was aimed at attracting more tourists into the country and generating foreign exchange for the development of tourism sites in the country.
Ms Andrews said a year-long programme of activities had been drawn up to mark the 50th anniversary of AIESEC, beginning from July this year to July 2011.
Newly elected executive members of AIESEC for 2011 were introduced at the dinner and awards night.
Mr Kwesi Tabiri Fosu, the new President of the organisation, will preside over the projects for 2011.
The dinner also saw the presentation of certificates to a number of institutions for assisting the students movement to undertake projects.
Some of the award-winning organisations were the Ghana Immigration Service for assisting AIESEC members to go through immigration formalities without undue hindrances and delays, the Central University College, the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana for running the best AIESEC programmes and projects and for their membership drive.
Another institution that was singled out for awards was Standard Chartered Bank, which sponsored most of the projects and programmes of AIESEC, while Toyota Ghana received commendation for sponsoring the awards nights.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
GOVT INCREASES PREMIX ALLOCATION (BACK PAGE, MAY 19, 2010)
THE weekly allocation of premix fuel has been increased from 810,000 litres to 1,380,000 litres as an additional measure by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to enable fishermen to attain bumper yields during the peak fishing season which begins in June.
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Fisheries, Nii Amasah Namoale, told the Daily Graphic that in addition to the increased supply of premix, more than 170 landing beach committees had been formed under the restructuring exercise to be solely in charge of the distribution of premix directly to the fishing communities.
He announced that as part of the preparation for the fishing season, which begins at the end of this month, MoFA had acquired 1,000 outboard motors through the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) for distribution to both inland and offshore fishermen to help them carry out their fishing expeditions with modern equipment.
The Deputy Minister said another batch of 3,000 outboard motors was being negotiated for from India to augment the fleet of outboard motors for the expected bumper harvest this season.
That, he said, was to mark the departure from the lassez faire attitude that characterised the sale of premix in the past and which led to the diversion of the product, at the expense of the fishing communities.
He urged the fishing communities to reciprocate the government’s gesture by desisting from the use of undersized nets, dynamite and poisonous chemicals such as DDT for fishing, which he said destroyed the fish stock, including the fingerlings.
He said the government was seeking funds to undertake feasibility studies of the 14 landing beaches to be constructed in the country with cold storage facilities to add value to fish during the season.
He said the government had streamlined the sale of the product and crafted guidelines to regulate the operations of the landing beach committees, the result of which would manifest during the bumper season in June, July and August.
He said unlike the past when the hyper rich hijacked the sale and distribution of the product and nothing was left for the communities, now 53 per cent of the profit made on premix was allocated to the fishing communities for social responsibility projects.
The Deputy Minister expressed regret that in the past no school or clinic was built for the fishing communities from the profits from the sale of premix and gave an assurance that henceforth the profit made by the Landing Beach Committees would be used to build clinics and schools and purchase fishing nets and gear for fishermen.
He praised some fishing communities where the fishermen had started using the profits to register their members on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Nii Namoale said his ministry had banned pair trawling, noting that since he assumed office as Deputy Minister, no permit had been issued to any company to fish in the country’s territorial waters using pair trawlers.
He assured the fishing communities that any company caught practising pair trawling would be prosecuted.
He said the defunct Ministry of Fisheries left behind a debt of £4 million which had become a great burden for the Fisheries Department to shoulder, in addition to discharging its present commitment to the fishing industry.
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Fisheries, Nii Amasah Namoale, told the Daily Graphic that in addition to the increased supply of premix, more than 170 landing beach committees had been formed under the restructuring exercise to be solely in charge of the distribution of premix directly to the fishing communities.
He announced that as part of the preparation for the fishing season, which begins at the end of this month, MoFA had acquired 1,000 outboard motors through the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) for distribution to both inland and offshore fishermen to help them carry out their fishing expeditions with modern equipment.
The Deputy Minister said another batch of 3,000 outboard motors was being negotiated for from India to augment the fleet of outboard motors for the expected bumper harvest this season.
That, he said, was to mark the departure from the lassez faire attitude that characterised the sale of premix in the past and which led to the diversion of the product, at the expense of the fishing communities.
He urged the fishing communities to reciprocate the government’s gesture by desisting from the use of undersized nets, dynamite and poisonous chemicals such as DDT for fishing, which he said destroyed the fish stock, including the fingerlings.
He said the government was seeking funds to undertake feasibility studies of the 14 landing beaches to be constructed in the country with cold storage facilities to add value to fish during the season.
He said the government had streamlined the sale of the product and crafted guidelines to regulate the operations of the landing beach committees, the result of which would manifest during the bumper season in June, July and August.
He said unlike the past when the hyper rich hijacked the sale and distribution of the product and nothing was left for the communities, now 53 per cent of the profit made on premix was allocated to the fishing communities for social responsibility projects.
The Deputy Minister expressed regret that in the past no school or clinic was built for the fishing communities from the profits from the sale of premix and gave an assurance that henceforth the profit made by the Landing Beach Committees would be used to build clinics and schools and purchase fishing nets and gear for fishermen.
He praised some fishing communities where the fishermen had started using the profits to register their members on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Nii Namoale said his ministry had banned pair trawling, noting that since he assumed office as Deputy Minister, no permit had been issued to any company to fish in the country’s territorial waters using pair trawlers.
He assured the fishing communities that any company caught practising pair trawling would be prosecuted.
He said the defunct Ministry of Fisheries left behind a debt of £4 million which had become a great burden for the Fisheries Department to shoulder, in addition to discharging its present commitment to the fishing industry.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
SECOND BATCH OF LIBERIAN IMMIGRATION OFFICERS UNDERGO CAPACITY-BUILDING (PAGE 19, MAY 15, 2010)
THE Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) is expected to train 150 Liberian officers and 20 trainers under a two-year project to strengthen the institutional capacity and competence of the Liberian Bureau of Immigration and Naturalisation (BIN).
In that direction, the second batch of 50 immigration officers from Liberia arrived in the country yesterday for a three-month training programme.
The training is aimed at revitalising and overhauling the Liberian immigration sector.
It brings to 100 the number of Liberian immigration officers currently undergoing capacity-building training in border and immigration management in the country.
At the airport to welcome the Liberians were the Deputy Director of the GIS in charge of Operations, Mr Moses K. Gyamfi, and some immigration officials.
Mr Gyamfi appealed to the officers, comprising 40 males and 10 females, to conduct themselves in the same manner the first batch did.
He said the GIS would not compromise on discipline and urged them to channel their grievances through the appropriate quarters, not take the law into their own hands, while undergoing training at the GIS Academy and Training School at Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
He said the training formed part of a tripartite two-year project agreement signed last year among Liberia, Ghana and The Netherlands, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), aimed at professionally overhauling and revitalising the Liberian immigration.
He said the physical endurance and academic training could enable the officers of the BIN to become efficient and responsive to contemporary immigration trends through training and capacity building.
Mr Gyamfi commended the UN for providing logistics to airlift the first and second batches of Liberian immigration officers from Liberia to Ghana for the course to improve their skills in border management and safeguard the security of Liberia.
Mr Varney Carmon, the First Secretary at the Liberian Embassy in Ghana, who was at the airport to welcome his compatriots, urged them to comport themselves to project the good image of Liberia.
Mr Emmanuel Minnaar, the Immigration Attaché at The Netherlands Embassy, said the course for the second batch would be an improvement over that of the first batch because of the lessons learnt.
He said the course was the result of fruitful co-operation that existed among The Netherlands, Ghana and Liberia and urged the participants to help advance that international co-operation.
In that direction, the second batch of 50 immigration officers from Liberia arrived in the country yesterday for a three-month training programme.
The training is aimed at revitalising and overhauling the Liberian immigration sector.
It brings to 100 the number of Liberian immigration officers currently undergoing capacity-building training in border and immigration management in the country.
At the airport to welcome the Liberians were the Deputy Director of the GIS in charge of Operations, Mr Moses K. Gyamfi, and some immigration officials.
Mr Gyamfi appealed to the officers, comprising 40 males and 10 females, to conduct themselves in the same manner the first batch did.
He said the GIS would not compromise on discipline and urged them to channel their grievances through the appropriate quarters, not take the law into their own hands, while undergoing training at the GIS Academy and Training School at Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
He said the training formed part of a tripartite two-year project agreement signed last year among Liberia, Ghana and The Netherlands, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), aimed at professionally overhauling and revitalising the Liberian immigration.
He said the physical endurance and academic training could enable the officers of the BIN to become efficient and responsive to contemporary immigration trends through training and capacity building.
Mr Gyamfi commended the UN for providing logistics to airlift the first and second batches of Liberian immigration officers from Liberia to Ghana for the course to improve their skills in border management and safeguard the security of Liberia.
Mr Varney Carmon, the First Secretary at the Liberian Embassy in Ghana, who was at the airport to welcome his compatriots, urged them to comport themselves to project the good image of Liberia.
Mr Emmanuel Minnaar, the Immigration Attaché at The Netherlands Embassy, said the course for the second batch would be an improvement over that of the first batch because of the lessons learnt.
He said the course was the result of fruitful co-operation that existed among The Netherlands, Ghana and Liberia and urged the participants to help advance that international co-operation.
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