ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION NEEDS IN AFRICA, CARIBBEAN & PACIFIC (ACP) STATES

WEST AFRICA

Country Study: Ghana

Final Report Prepared by:

A. Alemna & Collins Osei

On behalf of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) Project: 4-7-41-209-6/a

October 2007

ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION NEEDS IN AFRICA, CARIBBEAN & PACIFIC (ACP) STATES

WEST AFRICA

Country Study: Ghana

Final Report Prepared by:

A. Alemna & Collins Osei

On behalf of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) Project: 4-7-41-209-6/a

October 2007

Disclaimer
This report has been commissioned by the CTA to enhance its monitoring of the information needs in ACP counties. CTA does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this report, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of CTA. CTA reserves the right to select projects and recommendations that fall within its mandate.

(ACP-EU) Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) Agro Business Park 2 6708 PW Wageningen The Netherlands Website: www.cta.int E-mail: cta@cta.int

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Acknowledgements The consultants wish to appreciate the efforts of all those who accepted to be interviewed for this work, and also wish to thank those who provided information for various sources that were required in the compilation of the annexes.

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List of Acronyms
ADP ADRA AFRAM AgSSIP CTA CIDA CRI CSIR CUSO DFID ECOWAP E-C FAO FASDEP FFS GBC GNAFF GPRS GTZ ICM ICT ICT4AD IITA INASP INSTI ISP JSS KK KNUST KWA LAN MCA MDG MOE MOFA NCA NEPAD NGO PGRRI PPME SSS TEEAL UDS UG URA WTO Accelerated Development Project Adventist Development Relief Agency Afram Publications Limited Agriculture Services Sub-Sector Investment Project Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation Canadian International Development Agency Crops Research Institute Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Canadian University Service Organisation Department for International Development Economic Community of West African States Protocol Electronic Commerce Division Food and Agricultural Organisation Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy Farmers Field School Ghana Broadcasting Corporation Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy German Technical Cooperation Information and Communication Management Information and Communication Technology Information Communications Technology for Accelerated Development International Institute for Tropical Agriculture International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications Institute for Scientific and Technological Information Internet Service Provider Junior Secondary School Kuapa Kokoo Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kwadaso Agricultural College Local Area Network Millennium Challenge Account Millennium Development Goal Ministry of Education Ministry of Food and Agriculture National Communications Authority New Partnership for Africas Development Non-Governmental Organisation Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Senior Secondary School The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library University for Development Studies University of Ghana Upper Region Radio World Trade Organisation

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Table of Contents
Disclaimer ......................................................................................................................................... ii List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................................. iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... vi Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... i 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 2. COUNTRY PROFILE ...................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry and Livestock ................................................................ 3 2.1.2 Fisheries .................................................................................................................. 3 2.1.3 Forestry .................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.4 Livestock .................................................................................................................. 4 2.1.5 Factors Militating Against the Growth of the Agricultural Sector ............................. 4 2.2 Status of ICT Infrastructure and Recent Developments in the Sector ............................ 6 3.2 Operational Aspects ........................................................................................................ 9 3.2.1 Description of Agricultural Information and Services ............................................... 9 3.2.2 Information Sources............................................................................................... 10 3.2.3 Information Products and Services Provided ........................................................ 10 3.2.4 Information and Communication Management Capacity ...................................... 10 3.3 Interventions Supporting Information and Communication for Agriculture and Rural Development ................................................................................................................. 12 4. INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 13 4.1 Information Needs ......................................................................................................... 13 4.2 Capacity-Building Needs ............................................................................................... 15 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................. 18 5.1 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 18 5.1.1 Information Needs ................................................................................................. 18 5.1.2 Capacity-Building Needs ....................................................................................... 19 5.1.3 Potential Partners and Beneficiaries ..................................................................... 19 5.2 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 20 5.2.1 Information Needs ................................................................................................. 20 5.2.2 Capacity-Building Needs ....................................................................................... 21 5.2.3 Potential Strategic Partner Institutions .................................................................. 21 6. PROPOSED CTA INTERVENTION STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN ....................... 23 6.1 Information Needs ......................................................................................................... 23 6.2 Capacity-Building Needs ............................................................................................... 23 ANNEXES...................................................................................................................................... 25 ANNEX 1: TERMS OF REFERENCE ........................................................................................... 26 ANNEX 2: COUNTRY PROFILE (GHANA) ................................................................................... 33 2.1 General Agricultural Profile ........................................................................................... 33 2.1.1 Size of Agricultural Population ............................................................................... 33 2.1.2 Farmed Land, Forests, Fishing Areas ................................................................... 33 2.1.3 Agricultural Systems .............................................................................................. 34 2.1.4 Agriculture in the Economy (Percentage GDP) ..................................................... 34 2.1.5 Main Agricultural Produce and Secondary Products ............................................. 35 2.2 Socio-Economic Profile ................................................................................................. 37 2.3 Media and Telecommunications ................................................................................... 43 ANNEX 3: PROFILE OF INSTITUTIONS ...................................................................................... 47 3.1 List of Institutions in the Agricultural and Rural Development....................................... 47 3.2 Select List of Key Institutions ........................................................................................ 51 ANNEX 4: LIST OF INSTITUTIONS/PERSONS INTERVIEWED................................................. 65 ANNEX 5: STAKEHOLDERS VALIDATION MEETING HELD IN, ACCRA, ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2007 ATTENDANCE .................................................................................. 67 ANNEX 6: BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 68

List of Tables
Table 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Information and Communication in Management Capacity Information Needs Top Five Information Needs Top Three Information Formats Top Five Information Sources Types of information services for different actors Staff Training Needs Frequently mentioned equipment Sectoral contribution to GDP, 1999-2005 Foreign exchange earned by agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, 1999-2006 Value of Ghanas exports by major distinctions Demographics Literacy level and languages Health Ownership of Health facilities Sources of Lighting Primary School enrollments Junior Secondary School enrollments Senior Secondary School enrollments University enrollments Polytechnic enrollments Migration by locality and sex Migration by region Major newspapers Television channels Fixed and Mobile Telephone Operators Page 11 13 14 14 15 16 17 35 35 35 36 38 39 39 40 40 41 41 42 42 42 43 43 44 45 46

Currency - 1 = 12,212.81 (30/3/2007) Source: Ghana Association of Bankers

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Executive Summary
Introduction CTAs tasks are to develop and provide services that improve access to information for agricultural and rural development, and to strengthen the capacity of ACP countries to produce, acquire, exchange and utilize information in this area. CTAs programmes are organized around three principal activities: providing an increasing range and quantity of information products and services and enhancing awareness of relevant information sources; supporting the integrated use of appropriate communication channels and intensifying contacts and information exchange (particularly intra-ACP); and developing ACP capacity to generate and manage agricultural information and to formulate information and communication management (ICM) strategies, including those relevant to science and technology. These activities take account of methodological developments in cross-cutting issues (gender; youth, information & communication technologies ICTs, and social capital), findings from impact assessments and evaluations of ongoing programmes as well as priority information themes for ACP agriculture. Objectives of the Study Since 2003, CTA has been systematically conducting needs assessment studies across the Pacific, Caribbean and Africa regions the regions it has been mandated to service. These studies have been in direct response to calls for CTA, in various evaluations of its products, services and programmes, to be more strategic in its choice regarding the setting of its own agenda and reacting to demand. This study aims at developing strategies to improve support to agricultural organisations in Ghana. Methodology Three methods were used for this study. These are the desk study the field study, and a stakeholder validation meeting. The desk study was used to compile the country profile as well as finding basic statistics and other information for the work. This included a search on the Internet and personal enquiries. A sample of fourteen (14) institutions

in Agricultural and Rural Development was used for this study. These include Agricultural Training Institutions; the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Research Institutions; the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (URA Radio); the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Ghana National Association of farmers and Fishermen (GNAFS). The field study included face-to-face visits and
interviews with personnel of the twelve identified key agricultural institutions. preliminary findings were discussed at a validation seminar with the stakeholders. The

Expected results The expected results of the study are as follows; Status of infrastructure, information services and ICM capacity of institutions involved in agriculture and rural development described and analysed; Information and capacity building needs in the areas of ICM identified for key institutions and potential CTA partners involved in agriculture and rural development; Baseline data on the status of ICM and ICT in agriculture and rural development compiled for monitoring purposes and improved outreach.

The study should therefore also provide updated country profiles on the status of agricultural information services the status of ICM/T in Ghana which will allow CTA to make informed decisions as on the type and mode of intervention as well as partner selection. Findings Major findings of the study include the following: Agriculture plays a dominant role in the economy of Ghana, with about 60% of the labour force in the country involved in agriculture. The use of ICT ((telephone, Internet, websites) for agricultural information is very limited in Ghana. Although a few telecentres have been set up in the country, access to these are limited owing to the high illiteracy among rural dwellers, high cost of Internet connectivity and frequent power outages. The main information sources used by the key institutions in the study include the Ministry of Agriculture, CTA; libraries of the various Universities and research institutes in Ghana. The information products and services provided by the main actors include information on crop production; fertilizer use; marketing avenues; and animal production. The number of staff involved in agricultural information provision are not many, though their qualifications are however appreciable. A number of the key institutions in agriculture do not have any fixed information budgets. The major information needs of key institutions are development and funding programmes; social development issues; and credit and micro-credit. There is a heavy demand of current agricultural journals among the key agricultural institutions. The other needs are materials in local languages and visual or pictorial information. There is a clear lack of resources in information management in the key institutions. Conclusions

The major information needs among the sample studied are information on development and funding programmes; social development issues; credit and micro-credit; conferences and meetings; and information on government and international regulations. There is the urgent need for agricultural information provision in Ghana to involve more use of radio, television and newspapers.
Most of the institutions interviewed made little or no use of the Internet, mobile phone, radio and television in rural information provision. The type of information needs cut across the urban/rural divide as well as the literate/illiterate requirements. Although Ghana has seen a lot of improvement in Internet access in the past ten years, this does not appear to have covered the rural folks who are mostly farmers. Training should begin with basic computer usage, through to Internet searching, to the design and development of websites.
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Training must be done in a systematic manner to cover all zones in the country, as there is a tendency for such activity to be restricted to the national or regional capitals. Recommendations Sequel to the training, is the need to ensure that equipment and their resources are also provided. As evidenced in the research, most of the computer hardware for agricultural information provision in Ghana is either outmoded or non-functional. For those institutions or organizations that have above-average resources, emphasis needs to be placed on issues such as bandwith problems and software renewal. Local CTA partners and beneficiaries are doing a good job in propagating CTA materials. It is therefore expected that these partners would be given more support so as to make them provide better assistance to farmers and rural dwellers. CTA must increase its support to its existing partners in Ghana such as the Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (INSTI) and the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF) as they are already providing good services. More support is also requested for agricultural libraries in Ghana in the form of current materials, enhanced training of staff and updating knowledge of their staff. CTA should engage consultants and translators to translate some of its materials into major local languages for the use of rural farmers. It is also recommended that Consultants be engaged to provide more materials in visual and pictorial format to assist farmers in rural areas on their agricultural production and services. Agricultural libraries in Ghana should also be given more support in their information-provision functions. This could be in the form of provision of current materials, enhanced training of staff and the upgrading of their equipment. In the area of partnerships, we recommend five main strategic partners. These are: a radio and television station; a publishing house; the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI); a major newspaper; and an NGO based in the northern part of the country. For the radio stations, the following are recommended: Unique Radio in Accra; Radio Peace at Winneba; Royal Radio at Wenchi; and URA Radio at Bolgatanga. The Ghana Television (GTV) is also recommended, while the Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times Newspapers are appropriate partners. For the Northern-based NGO, Action Aid is recommended. URA Radio (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Graphic Corporation) were among the Institutions interviewed. The other Broadcasting stations and newspapers have been recommended because of their national coverage. Action Aid is recommended because it is a major NGO based in the Northern part of

Ghana. ADRA can also be considered.

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1.

INTRODUCTION

1. This study aims at developing strategies with ACP agricultural organisations in order to improve support to these organisations in Ghana. The study will focus on: Providing an overview of main agricultural services and actors existing in the country (information supply side) in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for collaboration with CTA; Identifying agricultural information and ICM capacity building needs of key actors/key strategic partners for CTA products and services; Identifying potential strategic partners for CTA and services (paying special attention to e.g. print media, editors, radio, TV and journalist networks); Developing some baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in the country to facilitate subsequent monitoring and updating activities.

2. The study should assist CTA to improve and better target interventions and activities aimed at potential partners and beneficiaries (including women, youth, private sector and civil society organisations) to have a more informed picture of their needs and aid in the elaboration of a strategy and framework of action. The study should also highlight where there are specific needs for CTAs products and services thereby enabling improvement in the delivery of the same. 3. The study is conducted in three parts: Desk Review, Field Study and a stakeholder validation meeting. The Desk Review aims at collecting background information and data, preparing a country profile and list of institutions involved in agriculture. The Field Study involves face-to-face interviews with relevant stakeholders/concerned parties, using the data capture form and guidelines provided by CTA. Interactions between the consultant and the Regional Coordinator were maintained for the duration of the study. In all, a total of 14 institutions/organisations were selected for more in-depth interviews for this study. A sample of fourteen (14) institutions in Agricultural and Rural Development was used for this study. These include Agricultural Training Institutions; the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Research Institutions; the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (URA Radio); the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFS), Afram Publishing Company and Graphic Corporation. Efforts were made to ensure that these covered the Northern, Middle and Southern Zones of the country. The preliminary findings were discussed at a validation seminar with the stakeholders.

2.

COUNTRY PROFILE

4. Ghana lies in a central position in West Africa. Roughly rectangular in shape, the country is bordered by Togo to the east, Burkina Faso in the north, Cote dIvoire to the West and the Atlantic Ocean in the South. 5. The geographic location of the country is latitude 4,44s, 11,11N and Longitude 3,11W and 1.11E. Formerly called the Gold Coast, Ghana became an independent nation on 6th March, 1957 and a republic on 1st July, 1960. The capital city is Accra. 6. The country practices a multiparty parliamentary democracy based on the 1992 Constitution. It has an executive president, the legislature and the judiciary as the three arms of government. 7. Ghana has a population of 18.9 million (2000 Census) comprising 50.7% female and 49.3% male. The principal ethnic groups are the Akans, Ewes, Ga-Adangbes, and the Mole-Dagbani. Ghanaians are hospitable and friendly people with a rich culture. 8. Ghana has a total landmass covering 239,460 square kilometers. Mountains are few, but the Mount Afadzato is the highest peak at some 900 metres. Its pristine coastline stretches for a distance of about 560 kilometres. The country has a tropical climate. 9. There are 5 main agro-ecological zones defined on the basis of climate, reflected by the natural vegetation and influenced by the soils. These are Rain Forest, Deciduous Forest, Transitional Zone, Coastal Savannah and Northern Savannah. 10. Rainfall is biomodal in the coastal, semideciduous forest, rain forest and transitional zones, with two growing seasons as a result, while it is unimodal in the northern savannah area, where there is adequate water for only one major growing season. 11. The main wet season in Southern Ghana is from April to July and the minor season during September and October. However, Northern Ghana has a single rainfall regime with the wet season extending from April to October and the dry season from November to March. Annual temperatures range from 26.1C to 28.9C. 12. On the economic front, the government has done well to stabilize the macroeconomic environment after years of decline. All the macroeconomic indices inflation, currency stability, growth rate have been positive over the past six years. The economic projections for 2007 are a GDP growth of at least 6.5% and an average inflation rate of 8.8%. The country continues to rely on gold, cocoa, timber, pineapple, tuna, bauxite, aluminium, manganese ore and diamonds as the major foreign exchange earners. The fastest growing sector of the Ghanaian economy is the services industry, notably hospitality, communication and banking. The major challenges facing the government is the growing unemployment and the energy crisis.

2.1

Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry and Livestock

13. Agriculture is the dominant sector of the Ghanaian economy contributing about 40% of the countrys GDP and employing nearly 60% of the active Ghanaian workforce. 14. Ghanas economy is basically agrarian and agriculture is the largest sector. The agricultural sector is made up of five sub-sectors namely crops (60% agriculture GDP), cocoa (16%), forestry (11%), fisheries (5%) and livestock (4%). The sector is therefore at the centre of Ghanas developmental process. The agricultural sector is contributing to the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I&II) and the Millennium Development Goal (MDG1) through improved food security and livelihoods and eradicating extreme hunger and poverty programmes respectively. 15. Several agricultural programmes and projects have been instituted to support the Ghana Governments objective of an accelerated agriculture growth of 5-6% p.a. The latest of such programmes is the Agriculture Service Sub-sector Investment Project (AgSSIP). Specific activities of the agricultural research component of AgSSIP include the strengthening/rationalizing the scientific information system among others. Despite the contribution of agriculture and forestry to national food security and improved livelihood, growth rate in productivity is still low (3.1%). 16. Food production in the country is mainly rain-fed, small-scale, labour intensive with high post-harvest loses of between 30-35%. Crops grown are tubers, cereals, oilpalm, plantain, fruits and vegetables. Food production is in the hands of peasant farmers. Ghanas Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has overall responsibility for the growth of this sector and livestock. One major positive point is the countrys qualification for the Millennium Challenge Account which will inject US$547 million. 17. Ghana is the worlds second largest producer of cocoa, producing over 600,000 metric tonnes. Its production had been in the hands of private farmers, although the marketing of the produce is in the hands of government. Over the past few years, the government has focused attention on processing the cocoa beans locally to add more value to it before export. The Ministry of Finance has oversight responsibility for the cocoa sector.

2.1.2 Fisheries
18. This is under the Ministry of Fisheries and only 60% of domestic fish demand is met from local sources. Efforts are underway to develop aquaculture, most especially in the production of tilapia. The Ministry is using surveillance to monitor the depletion of fish stocks at the high seas and the Volta Lake. 19. The fisheries sector contributes about 5% of agricultural GDP and 3% to overall GDP in Ghana. Furthermore, close to 10% of the population are dependent on it for employment.

20. A substantial part of this fish intake is derived from the countrys marine capture fishery, while agriculture contributes only a small percentage. The marine capture fishery accounts for about 80% of the annual landings, the inland

fisheries, principally the Volta Lake, account for about 19%, while freshwater fish culture accounts for about 1%. The annual fish production over a 5 year period (1998-2002) ranged between 290,000 and 472,000 metric tons. The fisheries sector also contributes about 5% to the agricultural gross domestic product. The annual fish requirement for the country is estimated to be about 700,000 metric tons. Current production therefore provides only 50% of annual requirement. Over the years, the stocks have declined posing a major threat to their sustainability. This downward trend is expected to continue if new stringent conservation measures are not introduced into the industry at both national and regional levels. 2.1.3 Forestry 21. A large chunk of Ghanas forest reserves have been depleted through mining and human activities. Managing the countrys forests and wildlife is the responsibility of the Forestry Commission. A key focus of the Forestry Commission is the encouragement of individuals, organisations and commercial bodies to invest in large scale tree planting development.
2.1.4 Livestock

22. The livestock sector, which includes poultry, is able to meet only 30% of the countrys meat requirements, although there are vast pasture lands available for increased livestock production. Over 80% of milk and other dairy products come from imports. Lately, many rural communities have expressed concern about the negative practices of Fulani herdsmen whose cattle destroy farmlands and river bodies. 2.1.5 Factors Militating Against the Growth of the Agricultural Sector

23. A critical review of the poor performance of the agricultural sector has revealed that a myriad of problems militate against the growth of the sector. These problems include: 24. Policy Vaguely defined mission and functions of MOFA. Difficulty in acquiring agricultural land. Absence of land use policy. Inadequate investment by government in agriculture. Over-reliance on donor funding with its stringent conditions and procedures. Un-co-ordinated donor funded projects and NGO activities across the country with different implementation policies. Ineffective monitoring of on-going projects, poor evaluation of completed projects and non-utilisation of lessons and experiences. Unfair domestic and international trade policies. Weak enforcement of fisheries laws. Poor dissemination of information on trade agreements and protocols.

 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Poorly coordinated agricultural and trade policies. Institutional Weak producer organisations. Limited monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries resources. Inadequate agricultural extension staff (both in number and skills). High attrition rate of trained staff. Weak research-extension-farmer linkage. Lack of reliable statistical data for decision-making. Weak enforcement of laws. Inefficient marketing systems. Weak market-processor-farmer linkage. Weak agri-business system. Slow progress in decentralization. Poorly motivated public service. Infrastructure Poor access to production areas. Inadequate haulage vehicles. Unhygienic marketing centres. Inadequate processing facilities. Inadequate and inappropriate storage facilities. Poor, unattractive and unhygienic packaging. Limited irrigation facilities. Inadequate energy supply and distribution. Financial High cost of inputs relative to output prices. High interest rates and transaction costs on credit. Non-availability of medium and long-term capital. Low investment in agro-processing. Lack of innovative financial packages favouring agriculture. Unfavourable timing of credit disbursement. Social Aging farmers. Low interest of youth in agriculture. High rural-urban migration. High rate of illiteracy among farmers and fishermen. Wealth/Environmental Over-reliance on rainfall. Poor preparedness against outbreaks of pests and diseases. Seasonal destruction of range land by bush-fires. Poor management of natural resources. Encroachment on farmland by mining and estate developers. Destruction of farmland by mining operations. Technology
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Slow pace of appropriate technology development. Over-reliance on imported of machinery, spares, and other inputs. Poor communication.

The challenge to the agricultural sector is to develop appropriate policies, strategies, and programmes to address the above problems.

2.2

Status of ICT Infrastructure and Recent Developments in the Sector

31. In response to global policy change in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, Ghana was among the first African countries to reform its ICT sector and establish the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks to support the growth of the sector. Since 1990, the government of Ghana has liberalized the telecommunications sector with the aim of enabling the private sector to participate in the provision of services to increase access and coverage, introduce value-added services and boost consumer access to the state-of-the-art technology. 32. The liberalization policy was based on a 5-year Accelerated Development Programme (ADP) for the telecoms sector, introduced in 1994. It aimed to increase teledensity from 0.31 per cent to about 1.5-2.5 per cent through provision of public and private phones; improve public access in rural and urban areas; expand coverage of mobile services; promote Ghanaian ownership of telecommunication companies; and retain overall public regulatory control of the sector through the creation of a single agency. (Teledensity is determined by the ratio between the population and total number of fixed lines). 33. By 2000 the ADP had achieved an increase in teledensity from 0.34 lines to 1.16 line per 1,000 inhabitants, public phones from 0.001 to 0.16 per 1,000 inhabitants. A Second National Operator (SNO), Westel, was licensed, and a number of private FM and TV stations were operating. 34. The government of Ghana introduced its ICT4AD policy in the latter part of 2003. According to the basic premise of the policy, Ghanas development process can be accelerated through the development, deployment and exploitation of ICTs within the economy and society. The overall aim of ICT4AD was to engineer an ICT-led socioeconomic development process with the potential to transform Ghana into a middleincome, information-rich, knowledge-based and technology-driven economy and society. 35. Access to telephone services improved considerably in the early stages of liberalization, and until recently landlines dominated the telecommunications landscape in Ghana and have had a sustained growth. The mobile phone market has been one of the fastest growing sectors of ICT in Ghana. In spite of the inroads made by mobile telephony, there is still a huge demand for landlines. 36. Despite high hopes from the early introduction of competition in the fixed line market, Ghanas ICT sector development has been steady but not spectacular. Factors influencing Ghanas performance, particularly in the fixed line telephone service, include an ineffective strategic investor, management problems, interconnection problems and a weak regulatory regime. Telekom Malaysia, acting as the strategic investor in Ghana

Telecom, failed to raise the necessary capital to undertake the major network expansion needed to meet its rollout obligations. The second national network operator, Westel, has not provided effective competition for the highly entrenched incumbent, and management problems have made it unattractive in domestic and international capital markets. 37. As a result, since starting operations in 1999, Westel has rolled out only about 3,000 lines out of its mandatory target of 50,000 by 2002. Difficulties in interconnection negotiations with the incumbent not only delayed the launching of Westels services by a year, but also adversely affected the penetration rates and service quality. Political interference in the regulatory regime and an ineffectual regulatory authority also contributed to this. 38. The emergence of new wireless and satellite-based solutions is positioning the country to take advantage of the benefits to be derived from ICT. The use of computers has increased tremendously in the past 5 years, while the number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has also increased. At the end of 2005, the National Communications Authority (NCA) had licensed a total of 114 companies to provide Internet services in the country. Of these, only 27 had actually commenced.

3.

STATUS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Institutional, regulatory and policy framework 39. The governments policy objectives for agriculture were still based on the transformation of the rural economy through modernized agriculture, as outlined by the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I). Specifically, the agricultural sector is expected to ensure the following: (i) food self-sufficiency and food security; (ii) the production of raw materials for industry; and (iii) increased foreign exchange earnings through diversification of exports. 40. The US governments aid package to Ghana under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) promises to give the agricultural sector a boost. According to the programme,t he $547 million Millennium Challenge Compact over a five-year period aims at reducing poverty by raising farmer incomes through private sector-led, agribusiness development. The focus of the programme is on increasing the production and productivity of high-value cash and food staple crops in certain areas of Ghana, and enhancing the competitiveness of Ghanas export base in horticultural and other traditional crops. The agricultural project under the MCA covers six areas: 41. a. b. c. d. e. f. Farmer and Enterprise Training in Commercial Agriculture. Irrigation Development. Land Tenure Facilitation. Improvement of Post-Harvest Handling and Value Chain Services. Improvement of Credit Services for On-Farm and Value Chain . Investments. Rehabilitation of Feeder Roads.

42. Various local information sources have been used in the dissemination of agricultural information in Ghana. One of these is the use of radio. This has been used with some effect in providing information to farmers. The availability of the transistor radio makes it easy for more families to own radios, and for people to carry them anywhere. As at 2007, there are 12 stations in Ghana. The success achieved by the use of FM stations to transmit programmes to farmers in the Upper, Central and Volta regions of Ghana testifies to the potency of this method. The initial problem encountered with the use of this method, cost of transistor radios, has been partially solved by the Governments decision to subsidise the cost of preset radios for rural farmers. 43. Television is another means of providing agricultural information. As at 2007, there are 1.73m Television sets in Ghana. There is a specially designed 30 minutes agricultural magazine programme which is shown on Wednesday evenings on Ghana Television. There is also a weekly adult education programme which sometimes discusses agricultural issues. 44. Unfortunately, television sets are expensive and not widely accessible to rural farmers. They also require the use of electrical power which is not available in most of

the rural areas. One way of solving the problem of unavailability of television sets is for the Government to subsidise the cost as in the case of preset radios, to peasant farmers in the villages. The farmers can be encouraged to form cooperatives to buy solarpowered television sets so that members can watch agricultural programmes. 45. Agricultural information in Ghana is also provided through the use of posters. This was used successfully in the campaign against the cocoa disease known as the swollen shoot. Many of these posters are in the form of easy and simple texts with diagrams and illustrations which an illiterate can understand. The major advantage of a poster over other means of communication is the permanent interaction it fosters through repeated contact which imposes, strengthens, and institutionalises the message being conveyed. Its greatest shortcoming is that it does not come close to person-toperson communication. What is usually required of such posters is that they should be designed to be informative, persuasive and self-explanatory. 46, Agricultural research stations in the country have been organizing open days when farmers are invited and shown new developments and new findings. These activities are usually followed by question-and-answer sessions which help to provide information for the farmers. 47. Comic plays effectively combine visual and oral effects in driving home their messages, and they are also familiar language and popular especially among the rural and illiterate people, majority of whom also happen to be farmers. 48. A number of local and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are involved in the information transfer process. These include Sasakawa Global 2,000, a Japanese organisation; Africa 2,000; OXFAM; Canadian University Service Organisation (CUSO); Farmers Services Organisation; and various religious bodies such as the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Catholic Church. 49. These organisations have contributed immensely to the agricultural development of Ghana. It is heartening to note the remarkable progress being made by the Sasakawa Global 2,000 to get information to farmers in the Northern, Upper and Volta regions. In some cases, output of corn, millet and other food crops has already increased at least four-fold through information given to farmers in the use of artificial fertilizers.

3.2

Operational Aspects
3.2.1 Description of Agricultural Information and Services

50. Currently Agricultural Extension Services and the various agricultural libraries and information centres are the main sources of agricultural information and rural development.

51. Result from the data capture form provide a summary of the following services: Local sources Radio Programmes; video presentations; Fairs and Exhibitions; Commodity and Farmer Associations; Institutional Libraries; Newspapers; Research Publications; and Input suppliers. National Source INSTI; Question and Answer services; Ministry of Agriculture; Farmer-based Organisations: and NGOs. International Sources CTA; FAO; PERI; Internet; Databases; Journals; Agricultural Research, Websites; IITA; and KTI.

3.2.2

Information Sources

52. The information sources used by the various institutions in the study include CTA; the Ministry of Agriculture; the libraries of the Faculties of Agriculture in the various Universities; various Research Institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research; and the FAO Library. 3.2.3 Information Products and Services Provided

53. A summary of the data capture form indicates that the following information services and products are provided by the main actors; in the order of importance; a. Technical advice b. Academic literature/journal articles c. Questions and Answer Services. d. Library and information services. e. Abstracts f. Conference papers g. Databases 3.2.4 Information and Communication Management Capacity

54. Based on the findings of this study, the number of staff in the agricultural/information/communication sector are not many. With the exception of the agricultural libraries that have an average staff of between 2 and 6, most of the other information provision agencies depend on two or three members of staff. Qualifications of staff are however appreciable, as these range from Basic Level Education Certificate to M.Phil. In the area of resources, more needs to be done as most of the computers and documents are either non-functional or outdated. Budgets range between 80,000 and 400,000 per annum. Access to the Internet is also encouraging. Except for two organisations GBC (URA Radio and GNAFF), the remaining twelve en institutions under the study, have full Internet connectivity.

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Table 1: Information and Communication Management Capacity Name No. of Staff Qualifications Budget KAC 1 Professional Diploma Not known 1 Clerical Secondary Edu. GNAFF 1 Professional Post-Secondary 80,000 1 Technical Post-Secondary 100,000 2 Clericals Post-Secondary UDS 6 Professionals B.A., M.Phil 15 Technicals B.Sc. Dip. 34,000 12 Clericals Sec. Educ. KNUST 2 professionals M.Phil; M.A. 1 Technical Diploma 1,637 1 Clerical Basic Educ. CRI 1 Professional Post-Sec. 1 Technical Diploma Not known 1 Clerical Basic Educ. UG (COA) 1 Professional B.A. 1 Technical Post-Sec. 409,000 1 Clerical Basic Educ. ADRA None None 4,421,000

Kuapa Kokoo

PPME

1 Professional 1 Technician 1 Clerical 1 Professional 1 Clerical None None 2 Professional 1 Clerical None 2 Professionals 1 Technician 2 Clericals

HND Computer Stds. Sec. Educ. Diploma Basic Educ. None None B.A./Dip Sec. Educ. None B.A.; Dip Dip. Post-Sec.

Not known Not Known 400,000 80,000 Not known Not known Not known

Equipment Internet LAN PCs No Internet No LAN PCs Website Internet, LAN PCs Website Internet, LAN PCs Website Internet, LAN PCs Website Internet, LAN PCs Website Internet, LAN PCs Internet, LAN PCs Website Internet, LAN PCs Internet, LAN PCs PCs; No Internet; No LAN Internet; LAN PCs Internet; LAN PCs Internet; LAN PCs; Website

E-C URA PGRRI AFRAM GRAPHIC

11

3.3 Interventions Supporting Information and Communication for Agriculture and Rural Development
55. Various interventions have been made by the government, NGOs and donor agencies. The government in its ICTAD policy, intends among others, to promote the deployment and exploitation of ICTs to support the activities of the agricultural sector including, the production, processing, marketing and distribution of agricultural products and services. The government has also established the E-Commerce Division under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to provide information electronically on prices and avenues of marketing of farm products to farmers. 56. In relation to rural development, one major target group is women. Hence the Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS) an NGO, has established a rural telecentre mainly to train women in the use of ICT for information on farming and commerce. International organisations such as the CTA are also assisting farmers organisations to address some of these issues. 57. Internet usage is negligible in rural areas, which is disturbing, since the bulk of Ghanas population that generates the greater part of the countrys income, live there. Therefore, providing Internet access and other ICT facilities is not only an issue of equity, but has great economic consequences for the whole country. This is due to the inherent positive contributions. ICTs can make to improve efficiencies, productivity and the well-being of rural people. 58. To reduce this gap, the government has drawn up a programme to establish community ICT centres throughout the country. At these centres, rural people will be trained and have access to a number of ICT services, including the Internet. Under the programme, ICT centres are to be established in 230 communities. The first phase consists of establishing 62 community ICT centres, of which 60 have been completed.

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4.

INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS ANALYSIS

59. A sample of fourteen (14) institutions in Agricultural and Rural Development was used for this study. These include Agricultural Training Institutions; the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Research Institutions; the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (URA Radio); the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFS). Efforts were made to ensure that these covered the Northern, Middle and Southern Zones of the country.

4.1

Information Needs

60. An analysis of the information needs of the respondents is indicated in Table 1 below: Table 1: Information Needs Type of Information Social Development issues Credit and micro-credit Equipment sourcing Briefings/Summaries Application of ICT Journal Articles CTA Booklets Fulltexts of electrical Journals Development and funding programmes Crop varieties Post-harvest technology Conference and Meetings Local Language materials Current Textbooks Statistical Data Farm problems Visual/Pictorial information Gender Issues Materials for mass distribution Non-farm livelihoods Market data Commodity profiles Agricultural/Dev. Networks Government and international regulations (Source; Information from interviews)

Request by ADRA; UDS, GNAFF, KK, URA, GC ADRA, KK, KWA, E-C UG, KK URA, GC UG, KWA, ADRA, UG, CRI, UDS, KNUST, GNAFF, E-C, PPME, PGRRI, URA ADRA, KK, URA UG, CRI CRI, UDS, KNUST, GNAFF, KK, KWA CRI CRI, KK CRI, UDS, KNUST, PPME UDS, GNAFF, KK, KWA, PPME, URA UDS, KNUST KNUST GNAFF, URA, AFRAM GNAFS, KK, KWA, E-C, ADRA, KK, AFRAM GNAFF, KK KWA KWA, E-C E-C, PPME PPME, URA, GC

61. The analysis indicates that information needs of the respondents vary as much as there are needs common to some of them. The Table below shows the top five information needs.

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Table 2: Top Five Information Needs Type of Information Development and funding programmes Social development issues Credit and micro-credit Conferences and meetings Government and International regulation (Source: Information from Interview)

% of Interviewees 50% 41% 33% 33% 16%

62. It can be seen from table 2 above that the highest number of the sample requested information on development and funding programmes. The next demand is for information on social development issues. The two cases cited above, are not unexpected, as all the organisations surveyed provide information to farmers and rural dwellers and therefore need such information for their clients. 63, It was also clear that the universities and research institutes had common information needs such as conference and meetings, while the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also had common needs such as credit and micro-credit information and information on gender issues. Being civil society organisations, this information is necessary to determine the level of benefits that citizens are getting from the various government interventions. An interesting revelation from the interview is that none of the sample surveyed indicated the need for information on waste utilization or crop insurance systems, although these are very necessary in Ghana. Table 3: Top Three Information Formats Format Journal articles Local language material (Twi/Fante) Visual or pictorial information (Source: Information from Interviews)

% of Interviewees 83% 50% 33%

64. As indicated in table three above, a large number of respondents in the survey requested that they be provided with current journal articles. This was mentioned by ten out of the twelve respondents. This request was not restricted to the universities and research institutes (as would be expected), but there were also requests from some NGOs and the only radio station in the sample. 65. The high demand for local language materials was also expected, as most of the clients find it easier to read and understand issues in their local languages. As stated earlier in this research, illiteracy among farmers in Ghana is very high. In dealing with this group of people, it is easier to use visual or pictorial information. Hence the demand for this type of format.

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Table 4: Top Five Information Sources Source INSTI University Libraries CTA Ministry of Food and Agriculture FAO Library (Source : Information from Interviews)

Used by ADRA, UG, CRI, UDS, KNUST, E-C, PPME, PGRRI ADRA, UG, CRI, KNUST, GNAFF, PPME, URA, GC, AFRAM UG, CRI, UDS, GNAFF, KAC, E-C, PPME ADRA, CRI, KNUST, GNAFF, KAC, PPME UG, KNUST, PPME, PGRRI

66. Analysis of the possible sources that provided information on agricultural needs had interesting revelations. Locally, the Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (INSTI) was cited by 66% of respondents as one of their main sources. This was followed by the university libraries (58%). At the international level, CTA was mentioned by 58% of the sample surveyed as one of their sources of agricultural information. This was followed by the FAO Library with 33%. Most of the formats demanded is in journal literature. 67. It was also surprising to note that only two of the respondents (16%) mentioned the electronic media (radio and television) as possible sources of information. None of the respondents cited the Internet as a possible source of agricultural information. In this age of information technology, this was rather disappointing. The use of cell phone technology and video tapes as means of agricultural information provision is virtually non-existent in most parts of the country

4.2

Capacity-Building Needs

68. In order to determine the capacity needs of the sample surveyed, it may be pertinent to discuss the different types of agricultural information services in Ghana and their different actors. Table 5 below indicates this.

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Table 5: Types of information services for different actors Type of Services Consumers/Users Scientific Information - Research Scientists Services - Extension - Farmers - Processors/marketers

Facilities/Media Required Website (Internet) Library (Trad. & electronic) Scientific Publications - Journals - Annual Reports - Conference Rep. Data bases Website (Internet) Library (Trad. & electronic) Radio & TV Manuals - Production guides - Extension guides ICT (CDs, CD-ROM) Extension materials - Demonstrations - FFS Training Mass media - Print media - Audio/Visuals Oral Presentation - Farmers to farmer - Story telling - Folklore

Technical Information Service

- Research Scientists - Subject matter specialists - Extension - Farmers - Processors/marketers

Traditional Information Services

- Farmers - Processors/marketers

(Source: Ministry of Food and Agriculture) 69. It is clear from the table above, that different actors need different types of information, thereby necessitating, different levels and types of capacity-building. The survey results indicated the need for three areas of capacity-building: staff training, equipment and funds. The table below indicates the staff training needs.

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Table 6: Staff Training Needs Training Needed Basic Internet training Local Area Network (LAN) Network Administration Computer Troubleshooting Website design Hardware Maintenance Database Management Editing of reports Participative Methodologies Information Management (Source: Information from Interview)

Which Organisation ADRA, GNAFF, KWA, PPME, URA, KK ADRA, UG, KWA, AFRAM UG, CRI, KK, PGRRI UG, PPME CRI, KNUST, ADRA, AFRAM CRI, KWA UDS, PGRRI UG, UDS, GC CRI, KK E-C, GC

70. From the above table, ten areas of training needs are identified. Whereas the Universities and Research Institutes are interested in training in areas such as website design, database-management and editing of reports, the non-governmental organisations and the departments in the Ministries need training in basic Internet search and participative methodologies. 71. The varying training needs may therefore create challenges in attempts to provide a broad-based training programme in Ghana. It may be pertinent to mention here that a number of respondents requested that training be done locally to cover many people, instead of a few people being sent overseas for training. 72. In the area of equipment, two main observations were made during the research process. First, there was a clear lack of resources for information management in the organisations. In fact, two of the respondents (ADRA and URA) did not have any room or facility dedicated to information management purposes. Secondly, even in cases where these resources were available, they were mostly old and non-functioning computers, matching with outdated books and journals. This explains why there is a large demand for equipment, as indicated in Table 7 below: Table 7: Frequently Mentioned Equipment Equipment Computer hardware Local Area Network (LAN) Internet Websites Telephones Bandwith Software renewal (Source: Information from Interview)

Which Organisation ADRA, UG, CRI, KNUST, KK, PPME, PGRRI, URA, AFRAM UG, CRI, GNAFF, URA CRI, GNAFF, KWA, AFRAM ADRA, KNUST, PGRRI, GC CRI, UDS, KWA UDS, PGRRI, GC E-C,

73. As can be seen from the table above, nine of the respondents mentioned computer hardware as their main equipment requirement. This goes to confirm the researchers observation during site visits that most of the organisations either do not have enough computers or the few available are outmoded.

17

74. A number of organisations did not have Local Area Networks (LAN) while others did not also have websites. A few had created websites but they were not functioning properly. The UDS and PGRRI had problems with bandwidth. This is a common problem with institutions and organisations that are located outside the national capital Accra. Similarly, some of the areas outside Accra have problems with telephone connectivity as indicated by CRI, UDS and PGRRI. It is interesting to note that the only respondent who did not have any of the major problems faced by the other respondents (E-C) had its own peculiar problem with payments for software renewal. 75. In the area of funding, this did not seem to be a major problem among respondents. Except for three respondents (25%) - GBC (URA Radio); ADRA; and Kwadaso Agricultural College, who cited funding as a problem, the remaining 75% respondents appear satisfied with their funding. 76. One main feature with the funding however, is that as manya s five (41%) respondents MOFA; Kuapa Kokoo; Crops Research Institute; Kwadaso Agricultural College; and the Plant Genetic Resources Institute had no idea of how much money had been allocated for their information management services. For those who provided information about their annual budgets GNAFF; ADRA; GBC (URA Radio); ECommerce Unit; Faculty of Agriculture (UG); Faculty of Agriculture (KNUST); and the UDS, these range between 80,000 and 450,000 annually.

5.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

77. The conclusions and recommendations are presented based on the findings of this research and informal discussions with agricultural planners and other groups in the sector.

5.1

Conclusions
5.1.1 Information Needs

78. The major information needs are information on development and funding programmes; social development issues; credit and micro-credit, conferences and meetings; and information on government and international regulations. 79. It is very clear that this type of information cuts across the urban/rural divide as well as the literate/illiterate requirements. While the urban dwellers may be looking for information on development and funding programmes, rural dwellers may be more interested in information on social development issues. 80. Similarly, while information on meetings and conferences may be the priority of the educated elite, the needs of the illiterate information searcher may be more in the area of credit and micro-credit facilities for agricultural production and services.

18

81. There is urgent need for agricultural information provision to involve more use of the mobile phone, Internet facilities, radio and television. This is especially in the area of rural information provision which may not be able to meet the more organized and formalized avenues such as libraries and information centres. 5.1.2 Capacity-Building Needs

82. The past ten years have seen a lot of improvement in the use of computers and Internet access in Ghana. Unfortunately, this improvement does not appear to have covered the rural folks who are mostly the farmers. 83. The first-stage of capacity-building should include staff who provide information to farmers and rural dwellers, library and information personnel as well as front-line agricultural staff such as extension officers. Training should begin with basic computer usage, through to searching on the Internet, website design and updating. 84. There is a need for training to be done in a systematic manner to cover all the zones in the country, as there is a tendency for such activities to be restricted to the national or regional capitals. 85. Sequel to the training, is the need to ensure that equipment and other resources are also provided. As evidenced in the research, most of the computer hardware for agricultural information provision in Ghana is either outmoded or non-functional. This should be the beginning point. 86. For those institutions or organisations that have above-average resources such as the universities and research institutes, emphasis needs to be placed on issues such as bandwidth problems and software renewal. 5.1.3 Potential Partners and Beneficiaries

88. CTA has a number of partners in Ghana such as INSTI, GNAFF and MOFA (Directorate of Extension). Under the INSTI, the following institutions are partners: Agricultural Information Centre, Agona Swedru Biotechnology and Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute (GAEC), Accra CSIR-Building and Road Research Institute, Fumesua-Kumasi Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Akim Tafo College of Agric. And Renewable Natural Resources, KNUST, Kumasi College of Agriculture and consumer Sciences, UG, Legon-Accra College of Agriculture, UEW, Mampong-Ashanti CSIR-Animal Research Institute, Accra CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Fumesua-Kumasi CSIR-Food Research Institute, Accra CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Fumesua-Kumasi CSIR-Institute of Industrial Research, Accra CSIR-Oil Palm Research Institute, Kusi-Kade CSIR-Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, Bunso

19

CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Nyankpala CSIR-Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Accra CSIR-Soil Research Institute, Kwadaso-Kumasi CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra Faculty of Agriculture, UDS, Tamale Ministry of Food and Agriculture Information Resource Centre, Accra Radio Peace, Winneba Royals FM, Wenchi School of Agriculture, UCC, Cape Coast

89. The INSTI has a network of Question and Answer Service that covers all the research institutes and the Faculties/Schools/Colleges of Agriculture in the universities. The GNAFF also has direct links to farmers and fishermen throughout Ghana. The results of this linkage is the large number of respondents in the survey who depend on CTA for their information sources. These include all the Universities and Research Institutes. 90. It would therefore seem that these local partners and beneficiaries are doing a good job in propagating CTA materials. It is therefore expected that these partners and beneficiaries would be given more support so as to make them provide better assistance to farmers and rural dwellers.

5.2

Recommendations
5.2.1 Information Needs

91. It is clear that although CTA provides assistance in the area of information in Ghana, this needs to be improved especially in the areas of social development issues and literature relating to credit and micro-credit. 92. There should also be an increase in the area of current journal publications on Agriculture, as this is a major area of concern among a large number of respondents. Currently, all the agriculture-related libraries have a free use of AGORA. The Institute for Scientific and Agricultural Research (INSTI) and the University for Development Studies (UDS) have in addition, access to TEEAL. What may be required now is for CTA to sponsor the publication of a local academic journal in the field of Agriculture. 93. Another major area that needs serious consideration is the provision of local language materials. It is recommended that CTA provide support in this area by commissioning consultants and translators to translate some of the materials into the major local languages such as Twi and Fante for the use of rural farmers. Local materials could be produced in the local languages in subjects such as fish farming; snail farming; and grass-cutter rearing. 94. It is also recommended that consultants be engaged to provide more materials in visual and pictorial format to assist farmers in rural areas on their agricultural production and services.

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95. Agricultural libraries in Ghana should also be given more support towards their information-provision functions. This could be in the form of provision of current materials, enhanced training of staff and updating of their equipment. 96. Apart from the communication options discussed above, it is suggested that efforts should be intensified in the use of comic or folk plays as a means of providing information for farmers. Appreciable results have been achieved with this method in the provision of family planning and AIDS information to rural populations in Ghana. 5.2.2 Capacity-Building Needs

97. In the near future, it is expected that more villages and rural information centres would be established by the government of Ghana to provide information for farmers. 98. A number of respondents indicated the poor telecommunication and electricity services as major challenges in information provision. The government of Ghana has to improve upon these services in order to enhance agricultural information provision. The problem of high Internet cost and bandwidth issues are also in the area of government support. Policies should be put in place by the government to subsidise bandwidth and encourage Internet usage in Ghana. 99 Efforts should also be made by the government to establish more rural radio stations such as the URA Radio to provide agricultural information to rural farmers. 100. One major finding of the study is the fact that there is no newspaper presently in Ghana that is devoted to agricultural information provision. Perhaps the CTA could take this up and support a local newspaper(s) or newsletter(s) in this area. Examples of newspapers that immediately come to mind are the Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times. In the case of a newsletter, the GAINSNEWS is recommended. (These are popular newspapers that are circulated nationwide). 5.2.3 101. Potential Strategic Partner Institutions

Five main strategic partner institutions are recommended to the CTA. These are: i. A partnership with a major publishing house to produce agricultural materials in local languages, (e.g. Afram Publications). ii. A partnership with a major radio and TV station to package agricultural information for rural dwellers. In the case of Radio Stations, the following are recommended: Radio Peace at Winneba; Royals Radio at Wenchi; Unique Radio in Accra; Radio Ada at Ada; and URA Radio at Bolgatanga. For the Television Station, Ghana Television (GTV) is recommended. iii. A partnership with a major newspaper editor to provide periodic columns for discussion of agricultural issues. (e.g. Graphic Corporation) iv. A partnership with a local NGO based in the northern part of the country whose population are mainly farmers, but who have little or no access to CTA materials. The NGO could serve as a link to disseminate CTA materials and

21

propagate its activities in the Northern part of Ghana. In this vein, ADRA is proposed. v. In the area of repackaging information for the peasant farmer, CTA can also partner with the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) to produce documentaries on agriculture. vi. Another avenue for a partnership is with the Information Support Unit of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

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6.

PROPOSED CTA INTERVENTION STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN

Information Needs

6.1

102. Most of the institutions covered in the research have fairly-well developed links to relevant sources of information. What is often lacking is the availability of current, up-todate and easily accessible information. There is also an information gap between the researcher, the policy maker, the extension agent and the peasant farmer. In terms of intervention, CTA must not only provide the information needs as indicated previously, but must also ensure that the quantity of information matches with the quality of information. 103. It is proposed that the avenues of information provision be increased beyond what is presently available. In this vein, CTA should link up with agencies, organisations and NGOs that operate mainly in the interior and northern sections of the country. One of these is ADRA. This NGO covers a large part of Ghana and is mainly involved in rural development. They will therefore be able to provide information to the community level and enhance participatory approaches to resource management. 104. In the case of the universities and research institutes, CTA is already providing some information resources to them (as indicated by the research findings). The libraries of these organisations/institutions have benefited from the use of ICTs to facilitate the exchange of information, changing the ways in which researchers and teaching staff are interacting with each other. 105. What is expected as a CTA intervention in this area may be in the following: Assist in establishing electronic network links among the universities and research institutes to promote universal availability of information. Improve the competence of library personnel in handling information sources, especially in the area of information-sharing. Support negotiations with document delivery centres and electronic database providers on one hand, and libraries on the other in order to attain favourable bulk materials. It is hoped that these interventions by CTA will make a major impact on agricultural information provision and dissemination in the country.

6.2

Capacity-Building Needs

106. Agricultural growth and development depends on well trained and competent manpower both in the public and private sectors. The low level of education, especially among the rural population has contributed to low levels of technology adoption. There is the need therefore to develop the requisite capacity at all levels to move the sector forward. CTA can intervene in this area in the following ways: Training in animation (GNAFF; ADRA; GC (URA Radio)

23

Provision of Information and Communication Systems (KK; URA Radio; KAC) Technical assistance (MFA; KAC)

107. Training can be at two levels. The first will be a training of trainers programme for frontline extension staff and other service providers. The second type of training will be a formal one including attachments and exchange programmes for policy makers, researchers and librarians. The proposed implementation schedule is indicated below: CTA INTERVENTION PLAN OCT., 2007-SEPT., 2008 ACTIVITY 1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 8. 9. Provision of Academic Journals Support for Library equipment Electronic Network of Universities Training in animation Provision of local language materials Provision of visual/pictorial materials Partnership with local newspaper Partnership with local NGO Partnership with publishing house Partnership with NAFTI MONTH 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 x x x x x x x x x x

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ANNEXES

25

ANNEX 1: TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Introduction The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) was established in 1983 under the Lome Convention between the ACP (African Caribbean and Pacific) Group of States and the European Union Member States. Since 2000, it has operated within the framework of the ACP-EC Cotonou Agreement. CTAs tasks are to develop and provide services that improve access for information for agricultural and rural development and to strengthen the capacity of ACP countries to produce, acquire, exchange and utilize information in this area. CTAs programmes are organized around three principal activities: providing an increasing range and quantity of information products and service and enhancing awareness of relevant information sources, supporting the integrated use of appropriate communication channels and intensifying contacts and information exchange (particularly intra-ACP) and developing ACP capacity to generate and manage agricultural information and to formulate Information and Communication Management (ICM) strategies including those relevant to science and technology. These activities take account of methodological developments in cross-cutting issues (gender, youth, information and communication technologies ICTs, and social capital), findings from impact assessments and evaluations of ongoing programmes as well as priority information themes for ACP agriculture. CTAs activities are currently distributed among three operational programme areas/departments: Information products and Services; Communication Channels and Services; Information and Communication management Skills and Systems.

These operation departments are supported by Planning Corporate Services (P&CS) which is charged with the methodological underpinning of their work and monitoring the ACP environment in order to identify emerging issues and trends and make proposals for their translation into programmes and activities. This current exercise, therefore, falls within the mandate of P&CS. 2. Background Since 2003, CTA has been systematically conducting needs assessment studies across the Pacific, Caribbean and Africa regions the regions it has been mandated to serve. These studies have been in direct response to calls for CTA, in various evaluations of its products, services and programmes, to be more strategic in its choice regarding the setting of its own agenda and reacting to demand. In putting together its Strategic Plan and Framework for Action 2001-2005, CTA look a pragmatic view and opted to develop a strategy combining the benefits of both approaches, whereby the need to address the expressed demands of its stakeholders and the potential long-term advantages of developing progrmmes that address future needs were combined.

26

The Centres new strategic plan covering the 2007-2010 period places emphasis on improving CTAs efficiency and increasing the Centres outreach by addressing the major bottleneck of difficult or insufficient access to information in ACP countries, (ii) honing CTAs profile and further defining the riches where the Centre has a comparative advantage. Consequently, reaching more beneficiaries and further strengthening CTAs partnership networks is key as well as the thrust to make ICTs and ICM strategies more widely available. 3. Main Issues CTA works primarily through intermediary public and private partners (research centres, extension services, libraries, NGOs, farmers organisations, regional organisations and networks, ) to promote agriculture and rural development. Under the new strategic plan, the organisations targeted will be extended to include print media, editors, radio, TV and journalist networks in order to further maximize outreach. Through these partnership CTA hopes to increase the number of ACP organisations capable of accessing and combining modern and conventional ICTs, generating and managing information and developing their own ICM strategies. The identification of appropriate partners is therefore of primordial importance, with bearing in mind issues such as geographical coverage, decentralization, regionalization, thematic orientation and transparent and objective criteria and procedures for partner selection. 4. Overall Objective Collaboration strategies with ACP agricultural organisations and relevance of CTAs support to African ACP countries improved. 5. Scope of the Study The study will focus on: Providing an overview of main agricultural services and actors existing in the country (information supply side) in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for collaboration with CTA; Identifying agricultural information and ICM capacity building needs of key actors/key strategic partners for CTA products and services; Identifying potential strategic partners for CTA activities and services (payi8ng special attention to e.g. print media, editor, radio, TV and journalist networks); Developing some baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in the country to facilitate subsequent monitoring and updating activities.

The study should assist CTA to improve and better target interventions and activities aimed at potential partners and beneficiaries (including women, youth, private sector and civil society oganisations) to have a more informed picture of their needs and aid in the elaboration of a strategy and framework of action. The study should also highlight where there are specific needs for CTAs products and services thereby enabling improvement in the delivery of the same. 6. Expected Results The expected results of the study are as follows: Status of infrastructure, information services and ICM capacity of institutions involved in agriculture and rural development described and analysed;

27

Information and capacity building needs in the area of ICM identified for key institutions and potential CTA partners involved in agriculture and rural development; Baseline data on the status of ICM and ICT in agriculture and rural development compiled for monitoring purposes and improved outreach.

The study should therefore also provide updated country profiles on the status of agricultural information services, the status of ICM/T in the country, which will allow CTA to make informed decisions re type and mode of intervention as well as partner selection. This will be summarized in one (1) main report per country not exceeding 30 pages excluding annexes (cf. section 8 below). 7. Methodology The consultant will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative rapid appraisal methods including: The desk review of available literature and information sources including the findings of programme evaluations; The conduct of face-to-face interviews with relevant stakeholders/concerned parties; The limited use of questionnaires.

The rapid appraisal approach will allow a general overview of the key issues and company/organisational profiles on a per country basis and may give rise to more indepth studies as and when needed in the future. 8. Reporting

The country reports will not exceed 30 pages (excluding annexes) and is broken down as follows: Main Report Acknowledgements List of Acronyms Executive Summary Introduction Country Profile 2.1 Brief description of agriculture and recent developments in the sector: 2.1.1 Agriculture 2.1.2 Fisheries 2.1.3 Forestry 2.1.4 Pastorialism/Livestock (where applicable) 2.2 Brief description of the status of ICT infrastructure and recent developments in the sector. 3. Status of Information and Communication for Agriculture and Rural Development 3.1 Institutional, regulatory and policy framework Status of national and/or other sectoral policies on information and communication for agriculture and rural development, definition or main

28

strategic focus and principal characteristics, opportunities and threats posed by the political, institutional and regulatory environment. 3.2 Operational Aspects 3.2.1 Description of agricultural information and services (main actors in the area of information and communication for agriculture and rural development) 3.2.2 Information products and services provided 3.2.3 Information and communication management capacity. 3.3 Interventions supporting information and communication for agriculture and rural development. Examine the main interventions undertaken, planned or foreseen by the State, donor agencies private sector (e.g. telecommunication sector) to respond to identified needs paying particular attention to the priorities and means mobilized. Lessons learnt should also be addressed in this section. 3.4 Needs analysis (Main bottlenecks and shortcomings) 3.4.1 Information needs 3.4.2 Capacity building needs (I.C. policies & strategies, sensitization, networking, skills, training media, ICT, equipment). 4. Conclusions and Recommendations 4.1 Conclusions 4.1.1 Information Needs 4.1.2 Capacity Building Needs 4.1.3 Potential Strategic Partners 4.2 Recommendations 4.2.1 Capacity Building Needs 4.2.2 Information Needs 4.2.3 Potential Strategic Partner Institutions 5. Proposed CTA Intervention Strategy and Action Plan From the above analysis, establish a link between the needs which are not currently met or for which complementary actions are needed and CTAs supply (products and services). This should lead to an overall and coherent strategy for CTA and an action plan and priorities are identified and an implementation schedule defined. Annexes 1. Terms of Reference 2. Country Profile 2.1 General agricultural profile (from available documentation) 2.1.1 Size of agricultural population (male/female/youth) 2.1.2 Farmed land forests, fishing areas 2.1.3 Agricultural systems 2.1.4 Agricultural in the economy (percentage GDP) 2.1.5 Main agricultural produce and secondary products 2.1.6 Main export markets 2.1.7 Trade agreements that include agriculture 2.1.8 Sectoral policy related to agriculture, fisheries and forests. 2.2 Socio-economic profile (from available documentary) 2.2.1 Total active population, demographic breakdown 2.2.2 Literacy level and languages 2.2.3 Access to services (health, schools, electricity) 2.2.4 Rural urban drift.
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3.

4. 5.

Media and telecommunications (update/check) 2.2.1 Newspapers, periodicals, magazines, radio stations, television channels. 2.2.2 Telecommunication services (fixed, mobile, etc.) 2.3.3 Computer and Internet access. Profile of Institutions 3.1 List of all main institutions involved in agriculture and rural development activities, including private sector and civil society organisation, with name, contact details, type and role of institution. 3.2 Select list of key institutions involved in agriculture and rural development, with extensive data and information on the institution, the problems faced and why it is considered a key actor. List of institution/persons interviewed (to include full contact details) Bibliography

2.3

9. Timing The draft final report is to be submitted within three months after contract signature by CTA, the final report is due two weeks after receipt of comments from CTA. 10. Expertise Needed The national consultant should have a university degree or equivalent by experience. In addition, he/she should have at least 10 years experience in the field of agriculture, rural development or social/economic sciences. He/she must have in-depth knowledge of the agricultural sector in his/her country and be able to identify key players and institutions/organisations active in this area. Some knowledge of information sciences would be an added advantage. The ability to communicate and write clearly in English is essential, while knowledge of at lest one of the local languages for communication/interview purposes is an added advantage. In addition to the skills above, the overall coordinator is expected to be fluent in English, have some knowledge of the 9 countries forming the object of the study, have demonstrated experience in coordinating studies with several consultants and in producing synthesis reports. The overall coordination of the exercise will be carried out by Ms. Christine Webster, Deputy Head, Planning and Corporate Services CTA. 11. Implementation Schedule (CTA) Preparation/Finalisation of ToR; identification/short-listing of (potential) consultants; call for offers: July October, 2006. Selection of consultants & contractual arrangements: October November, 2006. Briefing: January, 2007. Start date of contract: 11th December, 2006. Contract implementation period: 11th December, 2006 31st July, 2007. End date of contract: 31st July, 2007.

12. Key documents to be made available to consultants Documents include: Cotonou Framework Agreement

30

Executive Summaries of previous evaluation reports including ITAD; OPM, etc. CTAs Strategic Plan (2007-2010) Annual Reports Examples of reports of previous needs assessment studies. Documents on products & services provided by CTA.

13. Definition of roles and responsibilities Overall Coordinator Respect the timeframe regarding submission of reports and deadlines Help identify/vet country consultants Attend pre-briefing and briefing meetings Review the terms of reference Finalise questionnaires and methodological approach after due consultation with CTA Team. Finalise the briefing notes and guidelines for local consultants to ensure accurate and consistent application of the agreed methodology in data collection. Answer queries (technical & otherwise) of local consultants. During the studies, monitor and provide technical assistance/information to the local consultants. Review preliminary country reports and findings and send comments back to local consultants. Send edited draft final country reports to CTA for feedback. Coordinate and ensure consistency of country reports. Prepare the overall report taking into account the findings and recommendations of all the country reports (table of contents to be agreed). Local Consultant Respect the timeframe regarding submission of reports and deadlines. Attend briefing meeting. Familiarise themselves with background document received from CTA; including the Terms of Reference. Undertake desk study and prepare country profile, list of institutions involved in agriculture as well as preliminary list of select institutions. Conduct interviews and gather information in the country specified in the contract. Draft preliminary country reports and send to Overall Coordinator for initial comments. Based on comments received from Overall Coordinator, revise country reports and send draft final report to CTA within the specified timeframe. Finalise country reports based on comments and observations received from CTA and send final report back to CTA. Role of CTA Draw up initial Terms of Reference and prepare relevant background documents. Appoint the Overall Coordinator and the ACP Local Consultants. Prepare and attend briefing meeting consultants. Invite the overall Coordinator and Local Consultants for Briefing Meeting. Provide input to the Overall Coordinator with regard to fine-tuning terms of reference. Questionnaires, interview guide and reporting guidelines for the consultants.

31

Provide relevant background documents to the Local Consultants & Overall Coordinator. Elaborate budget and discuss contractual obligations with the Team of Consultant & Overall Coordinator. Liaise with Overall Coordinator throughout the study. Pay invoices for services rendered in a timely manner on condition that all payment conditions are fulfilled. Overall responsibility for the supervision and implementation of the studies. Bear the agreed costs of expenditure in respect of the study (economy class return tickets, hotel accommodation and subsistence allowances during briefing meeting, or during agreed and specified field visits). Provide feedback and comments on draft country reports to the Local Consultants. Give feedback to the Overall Coordinator on the Overview Report.

_______________________________

32

ANNEX 2: COUNTRY PROFILE (GHANA)

2.1 General Agricultural Profile 2.1.1 Size of Agricultural Population
The Agricultural sector in Ghana consists of four main sub-sectors: crops, livestock, forestry and fishing. About 60% of the population is engaged in Agriculture. 35% of these are female; 25% are male and 10% are youth. (Ghana. Ministry of Agric., 2006).

2.1.2 Farmed Land, Forests, Fishing Areas

Available farmed land is about 17.54% of the land area in Ghana. The pattern of land use in Ghana is the result of the interaction of a number of factors of the countrys physical and human geography. Ghana may be divided up into five land use zones, which are allied to the main vegetation formations: compound farming; interior savanna; forests; derived savanna; coastal thicket; and savanna. About 65.34% of the land area in Ghana is savanna woodland to the north and 34.47% is high forest to the south. Forestry is therefore one of the major land use systems in the country. There are 280 Forest Reserves covering an area of 2.68 million hectares. This is made up of 1.80 million hectares in the High Forest Zone and 0.88 million hectares in the Savanna Zone. The demand for agricultural land in the high forest zone has been so great that farmers have been bold enough not only to encroach upon reserved forests but, in some cases, to settle permanently in them. In 2006, Ghana earned US$149 million from timber exports. (ISSER. State of the Ghanaian Economy in 2006). The fisheries sector contributes about 5% of agricultural GDP and 3% to overall GDP in Ghana. Furthermore, close to 10% of the population are dependent on it. (Armah, et al., 2006). Fisheries in Ghana play an important role in the economy and social fabric of coastal fishing communities. The sector provides about 65% of the animal protein for human consumption for Ghanas population and can be categorized into the artissanal (mainly canoe), inshore (semi-industrial), and industrial (distant water and tuna) fisheries. Many coastal communities depend on this sector for their economic viability and livelihood. The big issue is the fact that fish stocks in Ghanaian waters have dwindled over the years and annual catch now hovers around 400,000 metric tons. Examples of the critical issues that affect the conservation of stock can be traced to population pressure, overfishing, socio-economic problems, lack of effective governance, changes in international access rights, and climatic change. Current critical issues affecting the coastal fisheries of Ghana, however, relate primarily so governance

33

and management strategies for the fisheries sector of Ghana. The Ministry of Fisheries is responsible for all matters concerning fisheries management and administration in Ghana.

2.1.3 Agricultural Systems

Land rotation and shifting cultivation are both practiced in Ghana. Land rotation is the principal agricultural system in use in Ghana. Intensive land rotation means the land in frequently rotated, that is, fallows are of short duration and the area concerned is devoid of unfarmed natural vegetation. In areas of less intensive land rotation the length of fallows is in general longer and patches of near-climax vegetation nor well developed secondary regrowth normally occur. The less intensive land rotation becomes the greater is the proportion of unfarmed land to land under rotation (i.e., cultivation and fallow land together). Fallow is always more extensive in area than cultivated land, but the proportion between the two varies widely with the crops grown, the nature of the regrowth vegetation and the proximity of the cultivated land to markets. There appears to be no formal rule as to how land is rotated. The only valid generalization at this stage in our knowledge of agricultural practices is that recently cultivated land (that is, potentially less productive land) is avoided when plots are chosen for clearing and planting, and potentially more productive land (bearing natural vegetation of some years growth), if available, is used in preference. Shifiting cultivation is carried out by a family or group of families who are the occupants of temporary settlement. The land immediately surrounding the settlement is cleared and farmed for a few years and then abandoned, when the settlement is rebuilt in a new location where clearing and cultivation is again repeated. The land used for this type of agriculture is well developed fallow farmland or land unfarmed in recent generations. Shifting cultivation is practiced only in a few localities in Ghana and is often a short-lived precursor of agriculture by land rotation. 2.1.4 Agriculture in the Economy (Percentage GDP) Agriculture remains the largest contributor to GDP, with a 39.3% share in 2006 compared with 32.9% and 27.8% for services and industry, respectively. This was only marginally less than the 2005 share of 39.5 About 41.1% of foreign exchange earnings were derived from agriculture, namely cocoa, timber, and other non-traditional commodities. It is however notable (see Table ) that the share of agricultural products in total foreign exchange earnings began to decline after 2004. For instance, while agricultural products (cocoa, timber and nontraditional exports) contributed 52.8% of total foreign exchange earnings in 2004, their shared declined to 45.9% in 2005 and 41.1% in 2006. Specifically in 2006, the value of the foreign exchange earned from agriculture are US$1,004 million from cocoa (representing 11% increase from the 2005 value), US$149 million from timber (representing 34.4$ decline from the 2005 value) and US$203 million from nontraditional agricultural exports (representing 34.4% increase from the value in 2005).

34

Table 8: Sectoral Contribution to GDP, 1999-2005 at Constant 1993 Prices (%)* Year/Period Sector Agriculture Services Industry All 1999 40.2 32.1 27.7 100.00 2000 39.6 32.7 27.7 100.00 2001 39.6 33.0 27.4 100.00 2002 39.5 33.0 27.5 100.00 2003 39.8 32.8 27.4 100.00 2004 40.3 32.6 27.2 100.00 2005 39.5 32.9 27.6 100.00 2006 39.3 32.9 27.8 100.00 Average 100.00 1999-2002 39.7 32.7 27.6 100.00 2003-2006 39.7 32.8 27.5 100.00 Source: Ghana Statistical Service *Excluding indirect taxes ** Provisional Foreign Exchange Earned by Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Sectors, 1999-2006 (US$ Million) Table 9: Foreign Exchange earned by agricultural and non-agricultural 2006 (US$ million) Year/Period Agriculture NonAgriculture Cocoa Timber Non-Trad. $ % $ % $ % $ % 1999 550 26.2 174 8.3 85 4.1 1.290 61.5 2000 437 22.5 175 9.0 75 3.9 1.254 64.6 2001 381 20.4 169 9.1 82 4.4 1,335 66.1 2002 463 22.4 183 8.9 86 4.2 1,332 64.5 2003 818 34.9 174 7.6 138 6.0 1,182 51.5 2004 1,071 39.2 212 7.7 160 5,9 1,290 47,2 2005 908 32.4 227 8.1 151 5.4 1,516 54.1 2006 1,094 30.4 149 4.5 203 6.1 1,947 58.9 Average 1999-2002 458 22.9 175 8.8 82 4.2 1,278 64.2 2003-2006 724 34.2 191 7.0 163 5.9 1,484 52.9 * Provisional Source: Bank of Ghana sectors, 1999Total

$ 2.099 1.941 1,867 2.064 2,297 2,733 2,802 3,303

% 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

1,993 100.0 2,784 100.0

2.1.5 Main Agricultural Produce and Secondary Products The main agricultural produce in Ghana are cocoa, timber, fish and seafoods. Cocoa exports for 2006 earned Ghana an amount of US$1187.4m, while timber exports in 2006 produced US$119.5m. In the same year, fish and seafoods earned for Ghana an amount of US67.9m. (ISSER. The State of the Ghanaian Economy 2006). Secondary agricultural produce include horticulture; wood products; cassava; nuts; pineapples; plantain; rice; oil palm; maize; yam; and sorghum.

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2.1.6

Main Export Markets

The two principal destinations for Ghanas exports as of June, 2006 were the United Kingdom (12.7%) and the Netherlands (12.2%). These two countries were also the top two in 2005 but their order was reversed with the Netherlands absorbing 12.5% of Ghanas exports and the United Kingdom 8.3%. These two countries took 24.9% of Ghanas exports, up from 20.8% in 2005 (Table ). On the West African market, Nigeria absorbed 1.5% of Ghanas exports as for June, 2006, a marginal increase from the 2005 figure of 1.4%. Table 10: Value of Ghanas Exports (US$ million) by Major Destination, 2001-2006 Country United Kingdom 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 174.9 164.2 212.8 227.0 196.1 179.8 (11.2) (9.9) (10.7) (10.0) (8.3) (12.7) Nigeria 77.6 80.3 20.4 26.5 33.7 21.0 (5.0) (4.8) (1.0) (1.2) (1.4) (1.5) USA 186.5 116.9 84.9 145.3 157.6 74.9 (12.0) (7.0) (4.3) (6.4) (6.7) (5.3) Germany 111.9 109.3 123.6 103.0 105.1 55.6 (7.2) (6.6) (6.2) (4.5) (4.4) (3.9) Spain 38.5 60.6 75 65.3 58.0 75.1 (2.5) (3.6) (3.8) (2.9) (2.5) (5.3) Japan 44.9 62.9 104.5 95.4 70.4 43.9 (2.9) (3.8) (5.3) (4.2) (3.0) (3.1) Netherlands 214.5 246.9 224.9 279.2 295.8 172,6 (13.8) (14.9) (11.3) (12.3) (12.5) (12.2) France 70.1 96.5 151.0 155.6 133.4 61.9 (4.5) (5.8) (7.6) (6.9) (5.6) (4.4) Belgium 45.9 73.6 71.4 106.9 136.1 64.7 (2.9) (4.4) (3.6) (4.7) (5.8) (4.6) Italy 61.9 69.1 91.6 81.6 87.1 35.2 (4.0) (4.2) (4.6) (3.6) (3.7) (2.5) Others 529.4 581.8 826.6 982.3 1093.3 631.9 (34.0) (35.0) (41.6) (43.3) (46.2) (44.6) Total 1,556.1 1,662 1,986.6 2,268.1 2,366.6 1,416.7 (100.0) (100.0) (100/0) (100.0) (100.0) (100.0) *Up to second quart of 2006 NB: Figures in parenthesis show the percentage shares of the country in Ghanas exports. Shares may not add up to 100 due to rounding. Source: IMF, Direction of Trade Statistics, December, 2006. 2.1.7 Trade agreements that include agriculture

Ghana is a member of the ACP-EU, and the WTO. These are trade protocols which commit member countries to comprehensive trade liberalization. However, there are controversies presently in the country with civil society organizations and NGOs protesting against some requirements of these agreements, especially in the area of the export of bananas, palm oil and fish products from Ghana.

36

The NEPAD and ECOWAP agreements are mainly restricted to the African and West African Sub-region respectively. These also stipulate that the signatory countries enter into a free trade agreement, with the intent of elimination of trade barriers and duties on goods. 2.1.8 Sectoral policy related to agricultures, fisheries and forests

The Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP) seeks to address some major constraints facing the Agricultural sector in Ghana. These include: Promotion of selected products through improved access to markets. Development of, and improved access to technology for sustainable natural resource management. Improved access to agricultural financial services. Improved rural infrastructure. Enhanced human resources and institutional capacity. The first phase of FASDEP began in 2002 and the programme is currently under review in order to assess the impact of the policy for the second phase.

2.1.9

Policy Framework for ICT

The Ghana ICT for Accelerated Development ICT4AD) Policy represents the Vision for Ghana in the information age. It is based on the Policy Framework Document: An Integrated ICT-led Socio-economic Development Policy and Plan Development Framework for Ghana released in March, 2003. The development of this policy framework document was based on a nation-wide consultative process involving all key stakeholders in the public sector, private sector and civil society. The ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy Statement fully takes into account the aspirations and the provisions of key socio-economic development framework documents including; the Vision 2020 The First Steps; the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) (2000-2004) and the Co-ordinated Programme for Economic and Social Development of Ghana (2003-2012). The Policy Statement sets out the road map for the development of Ghanas information society and economy and provides a basis for facilitating the socio-economic development of the country in the emerging information, knowledge and technological age to be dominated by information and knowledge-based economies. The Policy is aimed at addressing a number of developmental challenges facing the country as a basis for achieving a number of policy goals and objectives.

2.2

Socio-Economic Profile From the population table below, it can be seen that there are more males in Ghana than females. Population growth has however, concentrated more in the southern regions such as Greater Accra Region and the Eastern Region. The two Upper Regions (Upper East and Upper West) have the lowest population.
37

2.2.1

Demographics (Table 11)

18,912,079 9,357,382 8,554,697 4,395,744 4,288,720 6,450,828 6,483,781 371,428 419,071

Total Population Male Population Female Population 0-14 years (Male) 0-14 years (Female) 15-64 years (Male) 15-64 years (Female) 65 years and above (Male) 65 years and above (Female)

(Source: Ghana 2000 Population and Housing Census 2002)

By Regions
Region Total Gt. Accra Region 2,905,726 Eastern Region 2,106,696 Western Region 1,924,577 Central Region 1,593,823 Volta Region 1,635,421 Ashanti Region 3,612,950 Brong/Ahafo Region 1,815,408 Northern Region 1,820,806 Upper East Region 920,089 Upper West Region 576.538 Source: Ghana 2000 Population and Housing Census, 2002 Percentage 15.4% 11.1% 10.2% 8.4% 8.6% 19.1% 9.6% 9.6% 4.9% 3%

2.2.2 Literacy Level and Languages As can be seen in Table, the percentage of literates in Ghana is below 50%. This is mainly those who can read and write in English. For the local languages, Akan has the higher rate of literates (49.1%), with Ga having the lowest (8%). Literacy Level and Languages (Table 12) Total Population of Literates Male Literates Female Literates Akan Language Moshi-Dangomba Language Ewe Language Ga Language Source: Ghana 2000 Population and Housing Census, 2002 2.2.3 Access to Services

46.9% 41.6% 27.2% 49.1% 16.5% 13% 8%

Health Population of the population of Ghana living within a half hour travel time in a basic health facility (Table 13) Region % Urban % Rural Ashanti Region 75.1 48.0

38

Brong Ahafo Region 75.8 38.4 Central Region 75.1 42.4 Eastern Region 75.8 44.9 Greater Accra Region 93.5 62.8 Northern Region 49.9 16.4 Upper East Region 21.8 16.0 Upper West Region 82.6 13.9 Volta Region 74.8 51.1 Western Region 84.7 30.9 National 52.9 Source: Ghana 2000 Population and Housing Census, 2002 Although the increase in health facilities has improved the access rate in general, the problem is still very much the same in rural areas especially in the northern sector. Health facilities by type and ownership (Table 14) Type of Government Mission QuasiFacility government Teaching 2 0 0 hospital Regional 9 0 0 hospital District 62 29 0 hospital Other 10 20 23 hospitals Health 488 42 2 centres Clinics 374 90 50 Maternity 7 0 0 home Total 952 181 75 Source: Ghana 2000 Population and Housing Census, 2002

Private 0 0 0 71 25 571 313 980

Total 2 9 91 124 557 1085 320 2188

Water In the rural areas, very few households have indoor plumbing or standpipes, but some get their water from a public standpipe or other reliable outside supply. A great majority of rural households, however, have to get their water from wells (47%) or from natural sources (43%). Much of the water from wells in rural areas are fitted with pumps and account for almost a third of water sources for households. Provision of basic utilities In the case of lighting, the main source for households is kerosene (60%), while 39%have access to electricity of occasionally a generator (0.5%). About 90% of the households in Accra, and 72% of households in other urban areas, use electricity for lighting. Many rural households (82%) use kerosene for lighting. Almost two-thirds of the households in Ghana use wood as their main source of fuel for cooking, and 30 per cent of all households use charcoal; only 4% use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In urban areas and particularly in Accra, charcoal is widely used;

39

more than two-thirds of Accra households (71%) and about half of households in other urban areas (57%) use charcoal for fuel. In Accra, gas ranks second as a source of fuel, whereas in other urban areas wood is the preferred second choice. In rural areas many households (about 84%) use wood, but some households use charcoal or other sources. Sources of Lighting (Table 15) (In Percentage)
Utility Urban Source of lighting Accra Other All Coastal Electricity (mains) 90.6 72.2 77.4 26.7 Generator 0.8 0.3 0.4 0.2 Kerosene/Gas/lamp 8.4 27.4 22.0 72.9 Candle 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 Other Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Source: Ghana Common Country Assessment 1999 Forest 19.0 0.5 80.5 0.1 100.0% Rural Savannah All 4.3 17.1 0.8 0.5 93.8 82.0 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.2 100.0% 100.0% Ghana 39.2 0.5 60.0 0.2 0.1 100.0%

Education Basic Education Basic education in Ghana comprises primary schooling and junior secondary school, ranging from grade 1-6 in primary school followed by JSS 1 to 3 (grades 7 to 9). Private schools currently cater for about 13% of total primary enrolment in Ghana. At the junior secondary level, private schools account for 6% of total enrolment. Public and private primary school enrolments, 2000 to 2006 (Table 16)
Year School-age Population (6-11 years) 3,154,152 3,217,235 3,335,794 3,425,867 3.518.468 3,513,354 3,707,447 Primary school enrolment Estimated gross enrolment ratio 78.6 80.0 75.7 78.4 83.3 86.4 90.8 Proportion enrolled in private schools 17.3% 18.3% 15.9% 18.2$ 20.5% 15.2% 16.1% Gender parity

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

2,477,657 2,586,434 2,524,583 2,686,133 2,929,536 3.122.903 3,365,762

9/10 /92 0.92 0.93 0.93 0.96 0.96

Source: Education Management Information System (EMIS) MOESS Junior Secondary School Enrolment ratios are lower at junior secondary level than at primary. This reflects the modest transition rates from primary to junior secondary school, which by policy is supposed to be 100%. The sub-optimal JSS enrolment rates reflect the dropout rates from schools. About 20% of boys and 30% of girls drop out before completing the primary level. Similarly, about 15% of boys and 21% of girls drop out before completing the junior secondary level. Dropout rates in the northern part of the country are significantly above the national average. For example, in the East Gonja District of the Northern Region, dropout rates for boys and girls are as high as 74% and 83% respectively. Public and private junior secondary school enrollment, 2000-2006 (Table 17)
Year School-age population (12-14 years) 1,320,599 Junior Secondary School enrolment 804,245 Estimated gross ratio 13.0% Gender parity

2000

0.88

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2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

1.347.584 1.365.024 1.401.881 1,439,835 1,478,603 1,512,822

741,895 865,233 919,334 1,010,246 1.041,002 1,132,318

16.7% 14.4% 15.8% 18.6% 15.2% 15.9%

0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.91 0.91

Source: Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) MOESS Secondary Education The old secondary school system was phased out and the new system installed during the reform period from 1990 to 1996, and involved the reduction from a seven-year programme to a three-year one. In terms of gender equity, the participation of female children in senior secondary education is also substantially lower than at the basic education level. Again, female participation is lowest in the northern parts of the country. For example, the proportion of girls enrolled in senior secondary is as low as 24.8% in the Northern Region. Enrolment in Senior Secondary Schools, 2001 to 2004 (Table 18) Year Total Enrolment % Girls GER 2001 249,992 42.7% 25.4 2002 301,306 42.7% 24.2 2003 333,121 43.1% 19.5 2004 361,500 44.2% 17.8 Source: Education Management Information System (EMIS) MOESS Tertiary Education On the tertiary front, there were 19 universities by the need of 2006 of which six were public institutions and 13 were private. While the number of public institutions has not changed over the years, between 2004 and 2006, three new private universities have been given full accreditation to operate. No new polytechnic institutions was added to the 10 existing polytechnics, one in each regional capital. The government continued to pursue programmes and projects to expand access to tertiary education. These included infrastructural developments such as building libraries with funding from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) among other sources. Trends in enrollment into the universities clearly show a rise over the years, with public universities admitting larger numbers of students than the private institutions. Tertiary Enrolment, 2005/2006 (Table 19) Public Universities Private Universities Number % Number % Male 54,929 65.3 5,582 58.8 Female 29,149 34.7 3,915 41.2 Total 84,078 100 9,497 100 Source: National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE)

Polytechnics Number % 15,800 70.8 6.505 29.2 22,205 100

After nearly 20 years of the current educational system, the government set up a committee in 2002 which reviewed the system and proposed key reforms. The government eventually came out with a White Paper on education reform, and in 2006, it set up a secretariat alongside nine sub-committees to work on the fine details of the new system which is to be implemented in the 2007-2008 academic year.

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Enrolment of full-time students in the polytechnics, 1994/95 to 1997/98 (Table 20) Year Total enrolment Enrolment in Enrolment in Proportion of HND courses technical females certificate courses enrolled (%) 1994 3,554 2,896 658 15.3 1995 5,918 5,188 730 18.2 1996 7,420 6,987 433 20.9 1997 9,942 9,433 509 20.5 Source: National Council for Tertiary Education, 2000 Enrolment in all tertiary-level courses offered by the polytechnics. 2.2.4 Rural-Urban Drift

Out of the total adult population in Ghana, about 52% are migrants mainly from rural to urban centres. Across localities, the proportion of migrants in rural forest is slightly larger (60%) than in other urban and rural localities with the rates for males and females being almost identical. Extent of migration by present locality and sex (per cent) (Table 21) Locality Sex Accra Other Rural Rural Rural Urban Coastal Forest Savannah Male 46.6 49.4 46.6 60.9 45.3 Female 42.9 51.8 48.3 60..6 46.8 All 44.7 50.7 47.6 60.8 46.1 Source: Ghana Population Data Analysis Report, 2005

Ghana 51.4 52.2 51.8

Overall, 36% are in-migrants and 16 per cent are return migrants. In regional terms, about four in every ten of the population of Greater Accra, Volta and Western Regions, are in-migrants. In contrast, in the north of the country the level of in-migration is fairly low, particularly in the Upper East Region where just about 10% of the population are inmigrants. When one looks at the overall level of migration, the contrast between regions I the south and north of the country becomes very clear. In the Upper West region, for instance, less than a third of the population are migrants, and about a third in the Northern Region are migrants, whereas in each of the other regions as at least half the population are migrants. Migration status by region (per cent) (Table 22)
Region Western Central Greater Accra Eastern Volta Ashanti Brong Ahafo Northern Upper West Upper East In migrants 40.0 35.1 42.5 34.7 42.7 37.4 35.1 24.1 19.2 10.4 Return migrants 10.1 22.1 6.2 17.1 14.3 19.2 17.7 11.6 9.1 35.7 Nonmigrants 49.9 42.8 51.3 48.2 43.0 43.4 47.2 64.3 71.7 53.8 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Sample size 1591 1231 1905 1829 1892 2457 1224 1393 486 623

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All

35.7

15.7

48.6

100.0

14436

Source: Ghana Population Data Analysis Report, 2005

2.3

Media and Telecommunications

2.3.1 Newspapers, Periodicals and Broadcast Media

According to records from the National Media Commission, there are 466 registered newspapers and periodicals in the country. However, most of them are either dormant or out of circulation presently. Major Newspapers (Table 22) Name Ownership Circulation The Ghanaian Chronicle The Independent The Free Press The Statesman Graphic Ghanaian Times The Mirror Weekly Spectator Public Agenda Business Chronicle Bus/Financial Times Business Eye Financial Guardian Graphic Sports People & Places (P&P) Daily Guide Private 60,000

Frequency 2 times/week -

Agric. Focus)

Website

www.ghanaianchro nicle.com Private Private Private Govt Govt Govt Govt Private Private Private Private Private Govt Private Private 40,000 20,000 50,000 200,000 150,000 180,000 120,000 10,000 100,000 2 times/week 3 times/week Daily Daily Daily Weekly Weekly 2times/week Forthnight Forthnight Forthnight Forthnight 2 times/week Weekly Daily Monthly Monthly Monthly -

www.statesman.onl ine.com www.graphicghana. com www.newtimesonlin e.com www.graphicghana. com -

The coverage of all the newspapers is nationwide and they are distributed at streets, shops and gas stations. Under the column Agric Focus, it can be seen that only the Graphic, Ghanaian Times, and the Business and Financial Times provide some coverage on agriculture. Even so, it is on average only one article per month. In the case of the Television stations, only one out of the four national T.V. Stations provides a programme on Agriculture (GTV). This is a thirty-minute programme on Wednesday evenings. The Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science is the major periodical in the field of agriculture.

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Television Channels (Table 24) Name Ownership Broadcast Hours Agric focus Research of Broadcast Website Name Ownership Broadcast Hours Agric Focus Reach of Broadcast Website Name Broadcast hours Agric Focus Reach of broadcast Website

Ghana Television Government 20 hours 30 minutes per week Nationwide www.gbcghana.com TV3 Private 19 hours Five regions www.tv3.com Metro TV 33 hours Four Regions www.news@metrotv.com

Name TV Africa Broadcast hours 18 hours Agric Focus Reach of Broadcast Greater Region Website (Source: National Communications Authority) Radio Stations For several years, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) provided the main radio services in Ghana. They provided two domestic radio services: Radio 1 and Radio 2, both broadcasting from Accra. Radio 1 is devoted to local language programmes and Radio 2 transmits in English. After the privatization of the airwaves, the government gave approval to the allocation of frequencies to private radio stations. Currently, 160 FM stations operate in Ghana, most of them based in Accra and Kumasi and other Regional Capitals. They mainly focus on musical entertainment, news programmes, sports and talk shows for discussion of current events in English and some of the local languages (mainly Akan). Apart from the GBC Radio, very little coverage is given to agricultural programmes by the other radio stations. The most popular FM Radio Stations are Peace FM, Joy FM, Radio Univers, Radio Gold, City FM and Groove FM. 2.3.2 Telecommunication Services

In response to global policy changes, the government of Ghana liberalized the telecommunications sector in 1990. The aim is to enable the private sector to participate to increase access and coverage, introduce value-added services and boost consumer access to state-of-the art technology.
44

There are four licensed mobile operators in Ghana. These are: Scancom; Kasapa; GTOnetouch; and tiGo. The country also has two fixed-line operators namely: Ghana Telecom and Westel. Presently, there are 4,500,000 mobile phone subscribers and 900,000 fixed line subscribers. The Teledensity is 27.2. (Teledensity is the ration between the population and total number of fixed lines). Fixed Operators (Table 25) Ownership Cost of 3 Min. No. of Call Subscribers 357,577 Government 1,500 (0.13) Government 2,798 2,585,467 200,104 877,106 1,546,721

Name Ghana Telecom Westel

Coverage National Regional National Regional National Regional

2,000 (0.17) Mobile Operators Scancom Private 7,500 (0.62) Kasapa Private 4,200 (0.35) GT-Onetouch Govt/Private 4,200 (0.35) Mobitel (tiGo) Private 6,000 (0.50) (1 = 12,212) 2.3.3 Computers and Internet No. of Computers per 1,000 people: 3.0 Internet Service Providers: Network Computer; African Online; Internet Ghana; Ghanaonline; NTS Telecom; Ashesi Univ.; Volta Telecommunication; Alltel Limited; Intercom Data Network; Busy Internet; Agritel Limited; Net Plus; Worldlink Communications; Gatel Communications; Ghana Telecom; Africa Express; Innectix Ltd.; Worldstar Int.; Internet Business; Easynet Ghana Ltd.; Millicom; Broadband Services; Regimauel Ltd.; Transatlantic Network; Teledata IG; TSG Africa No. of Internet Subscribers: 120,000
45

Internet access per 1,000: 1.5 Cost of 10hrs. dial-up Internet per month: 576,000 (48) Cost of DSL per month: 2.4millin (200) Telecentres Ghana has six public access telecentres in Sekondi; Koforidua; Agona Swedru; Techiman; Hohoe and Mankesim. These provide a range of services including agricultural information, Internet access and public telephones. Unfortunately, the constant power outages and high costs of usage have prevented their widespread use. Communications in Ghana Telephone fixed lines: 360,375 (December, 2006, National Communications Authority). Penetration 1.6% Telephone mobile subscribers: 5,209,000 (December, 2006, NCA), Penetration 22.7% Telephone systems: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway. Domestic: Primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed International: satellite earth stations 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors. Radio broadcast stations: AM: 0 Shortwave: 2 (200&) FM: 137 licensed, of which 129 operational (December, 2006, NCA) Television broadcast stations: 27 (March, 2005) Source: http:/www.nca.org.gh/neatemp/downloads/LIST%20TVS%20As%@%20MARCH%2031, %202005.pdf Televisions: 1.73 million (1977) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 29 operational ISPs; 165 licensed (May, 2007). There are 490,000 internet users (end 2006), representing a penetration of about 2%. (ITU) Country code (Top-level domain): GH Regulation: The National Communications Authority (NCA), an independent regulator, was created in 1997, deriving its statutory framework from the NCA Act 1996. Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

46

ANNEX 3: PROFILE OF INSTITUTIONS

3.1
No. 1.

List of Institutions in the Agricultural and Rural Development

NAME OF CONTACTS Ministry of Food and Agric. (Head Office) P.O. Box MB 37, Accra Tel.: 33-021-665421 E-mail: info@mofa.gov.ga Ministry of Food and Agric. (Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-665763/668364 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Stats. & Info.) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-687198 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Women in Agric) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-673920 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Veterinary Services Division) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-776015/776021 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Crop Services) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-665066 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Ext. Services) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-668576 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Agric. Eng. Serv.) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-777787/777789 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Irrigation Dev.) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-662481/662050 Ministry of Food and Agric. (Animal Prod.) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-666374/780273 Ministry of Food and Agric. (E-commerce Unit) P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 33-021-670575 There are 10 Regional Agricultural Development Units and 138 District Agricultural Development Units all under the MOFA TYPE GOV ROLE PP

2.

GOV

PP

3.

GOV

RD

4.

GOV

PP

5.

GOV

PP

6.

GOV

PP

7.

GOV

EX

8.

GOV

PP

9.

GOV

10.

GOV

PP

11.

GOV

PP

12.

GOV

PP

47

No. 13.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

NAME OF CONTACTS Animal Research Institute P. O. Box 20, Achimota, Accra Tel: 233-21-511748 Fax: 253-21-511588 E-mail : Ari@africaonline.com.gh Cocoa Research Institute P.O. Box 8, New Tafo Tel: 233-81-23257/23276 Fax: 233-27609901 E-mail: crig@crig.org Council for Scientific and Industrial Research P.O. Box MB31, Accra Tel: 233-21-777651/4 Fax: 233-21777655 E-mail: csir@ghana.com Website : www.csir.org.gh Crops Research Institute P.O. Box 3785, Kumasi Tex. 233-51-60391/6 Fax : 233-51-60142/60396 E-mail: cri@cropsresearch.org Website : www.cropsresearch.org Food Research Institute P.O. Box MB20, Accra Tel: 233-21-777330/761209 Fax: 233-21-777647 E-mail: fri@ghanacom Website: www.csire.org.gh/fri Forestry Research Institute P.O. Box 63, U.S.T., Kumasi Tel: 233-5160122/360373 Fax: 233-5160121 Website: www.forig.org/ Oil Palm Research Institute P.O. Box 74, Kade Tel: 233-80361025/7-8 Fax: 233-803610235 E-mail: csir@ghana.com Plant Genetic Resource Research Institution P.O. Box 7 Tel: 233-81-24124/24138 Fax: 233-81-24124 E-mail: pgrc@libr.ug.edu.gh Savanna Agric. Research Inst. P.O. Box 51, Nyankpala, Tamale Tel: 233-71-2357/2441/23465 Fax: 233-71-23483 E-mail: sari@africaonline.comgh

TYPE GOV

ROLE RD

GOV

RD

GOV

RD

GOV

RD

GOV

RD

GOV

RD

GOV

RD

GOV

RD

GOV

RD

48

No. 21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

NAME OF CONTACTS Soil Research Institute Private Post Bag Kwadaso, Kumasi Tel: 233-51-50273/50353 Fax: 233-222030/66 E-mail: soils@africaonline.com College of Agriculture University of Ghana, Legon Ghana Tel: 233-21-500180 Fax: 233-21-500180 E-mail: agric@libr.ug.edu.gh Website: www.ug.edu.gh Faculty of Agriculture Kwame Nkrumah Univ. of Sci. & Tech. Kumasi. Ghana. Tel: 233-51-60242/60233 Fax: 233-51-60137 E-mail: ustlib@libr.ug.edu.gh Website: www.ucc.edu.gh School of Agriculture University of Cape Coast Cape Coast, Ghana Tel: 233-42-32139/32480 Fax: 233-42-32483 E-mail: agric@uccghana.com Website: www.ucc.edu.gh Faculty of Agriculture University for Development Studies P.O. Box 1350, Tamale. Ghana. Tel: 233-71-23620 Fax: 233-71-23617 Kwadaso Agricultural College Private Mail Bag, Kwadaso, Kumasi Tel : 233-51-50134 Adventist Development Agency P. o. Box 1435, Accra Tel: 233-21-220779 Fax : 233-21-220236 Graphic Communications Group Ltd. P. O. Box 742, Accra Tel : 233-21-684001 Fax : 233-21-684025 E-mail : graphic@ncs.com.gh Website : www.graphicghana.com Ghana Nat. Assoc. of Farmers and Fishermen P.O. Box MB37, Accra Tel: 233-21-664408

TYPE GOV

ROLE RD

EDU

TR

EDU

TR

EDU

TR

EDU

TR

EDU

TR

CHU

EX

STE

IN

AS-F

TM

49

No. 30.

31.

32

NAME OF CONTACTS Upper Region (URA) Radio P.O Box 43, Bolgatanga Tel: 233-27-22422, Fax: Kuapa Kokoo Ltd. P.O.Box 23044, Ash. Town, Kumasi Tel: 33-51-23277/32185 Fax: 33-51-42260 E-mail: admin@kuapakokoogh.com AFRAM Publications Limited P.O. Box M18, Accra Tel: 33-21-774248

TYPE STE

ROLE IN

PRV

TM

PRV

In

KEY FOR CODE Type AS-F AS-W AS-Y BNK CCI CHU EDU GOV NGO PRV REG STA STE OTH Role EX IN FS PP PS-E PS-M -

Farmers Association (includes co-operatives) Womens Association Youth Association Bank of Credit Institution Chamber of Commerce and Industry Church-Based Group Educational Institution Government Department/Ministry Non-government Organisation Private Enterprise, Company Regional Organisation, Project or Network Statutory Body State Enterprise Other Extension and outreach Information services Financial services Policy and planning Private Sector Exporter (fresh, frozen and dried produce) Private Sector Manufacturer (e.g., tannery, bottler, refiner, roaster) Private Sector Producer (e.g., commercial farm, fishing company) Private Sector Supplier (e.g., ag. Chemicals, equipment, seeds) Research and development Regulation (compliance, standards) Training (at secondary, tertiary and vocational level) Trade and marketing (include market development) Rural Development Other

PS-P PS-S RD RG TR TM RU OT -

50

3.2

Select List of Key Institutions

Name of Institution:

Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Objective/Mission Statement: Community Mobilisation by dissemination of research results to farmers Field of Specialisation: Microfinance, AIDS Number of Professional Staff: 80 Number of Technical Staff 20 Number of Clerical Staff 20 Branches: Accra; Kumasi; Tamale; Ho; Takoradi Annual budget: 54billion = 4.5million Source of funding USAID, Adventist Church Programme/projects undertaken: Agricultural Extension; Microfinance; Health (AIDS) Target audience: Rural Farmers 5million Extent of interaction None Collaboration/interaction with other institution University of Ghana Information on Research; UNDP Information Exchange National/sectoral policies: High cost of computers/power outages How information needs are currently met, and University of Ghana and from where or by whom: Documentation Centre at Ministry of Agric. Personal enquiries Information needs met Journals on related areas/CTA Booklets, Gender Issues Problems with ICM Lack of Documentation Centre; No professional staff Why institution were Church-based organisation/Southern Zone Other observations: Although established by the SDA Church, it provides services to farmers of all religions.

51

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS College of Agriculture, University of Ghana, Legon Objective/Mission Statement Training, Education, Research and Extension Services in Agriculture Field of Specialisation Animal Science; Crop Science; Soil Science; Home Economics; Agric Economics; Agric Extension Number of Professional Staff 74 Number of Technical Staff 45 Number of Clerical Staff 246 Branches: Research Stations at Nungua, Kpong; Kade Annual budget 5billion = 416,000 Source of funding Government of Ghana Programme/projects undertaken Library Automation Target audience Students (6,000); Farmers (1,000,000) Extent of interaction CTA Publications; Training; Consultants; Question and Answer Service Collaboration/interaction with other institution CSIR Information Exchange/Workshops FAO Training Programmes National/sectoral policies Unavailability of Cheap P.Cs; Bandwith problems How information needs are currently met, and College Library Legon from where or by whom University Library Legon Information needs met Journals; editing of reports Fullest of electronic publications Problems with ICM In the use of computers and networking Why institution were Provides a North/South Ghana balance Other observations Name of Institution

52

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Crops Research Institute (CSIR) Development and disseminate appropriate technologies for high and sustainable food and industrial crop production Field of Specialisation Agronomy; Breeding; Biotechnology; Information Educ. & Comm.; Post-Harvest Management Number of Professional Staff 85 Number of Technical Staff 174 Number of Clerical Staff 581 Branches: Kwadso; Akumadan; Ohawu; Pokuasi; Ejura; Assin Fosu; Kpeve Annual budget Not known Source of funding CIDA; DFID; GTZ Programme/projects undertaken Maize improvement; Legume Improvement; Roots and Tubers; Horticulture Target audience Farmers 1,000,000; Food Processors 50; Extension Officers 1000 Extent of interaction CTA Publications; Training Programmes; Consultants; Question and Answer Service Collaboration/interaction with other institution Ghana National Farmers Association Information Sharing; IITA Research; Ministry of Food and Agric/Universities Information Search National/sectoral policies Poor Networking of Research Institutes in Ghana How information needs are currently met, and Research Library Librarian; from where or by whom University Libraries/Ministry of Agric. Library Information needs met Current Journals; Electronic Database in Agriculture and related fields Problems with ICM No regular budgets; No information policy; Inadequate training of staff Why institution were Major research institute; Question and Answer Service; Middle Zone (Provides a balance of coverage for the Research Institutes Other observations

53

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Field of Specialisation Faculty of Agriculture, University for Development Studies, Tamale Teaching, Learning, Research and Extention in Agriculture Agric Extension; Crop Science; Animal Science; Agric Econs; Agric Engineering 18 32 20 -

Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken

416millin = 35,000

Government of Ghana Training in Internet use; Training in Electronic Information Provision Target audience Students 1,000; Farmers 50,000 Extent of interaction CTA Publications; Training; QAS; Workshops; consultants Collaboration/interaction with other institution INASP (UK) Information Sharing CSIR (Ghana) Research National/sectoral policies Extension of LAN; Poor Telecommunications; Bandwith Problems How information needs are currently met, and University Library Librarian; from where or by whom Invisible College Network - Staff Information needs met Indigenous Information; Current Journals in Agriculture and related areas Problems with ICM Technical Support; Inadequate Computers Why institution were Training Institute; Question and Answer Service; Northern Zone (Provides a North/South balances on the sample studied) Other observations

54

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Faculty of Agriculture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi To provide its graduates with requisite skills in the areas of sustainable agricultural production and natural resources management Animal Science; Crop and Soil Sciences; Agric Econs; Extension Services; Horticulture; Post-Harvest Technology; Agric Mechanisation 56 10 17 -

Objective/Mission Statement

Field of Specialisation

Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken Target audience

20billion = 1,660,000

Government of Ghana Website design, Workshop on LAN Students 2,000; Extention Officers 500 Extent of interaction CTA Publications; Consultants, training seminars Collaboration/interaction with other institution CTA Workshops, publication INASP Database, ministry of Agric - Consultancies National/sectoral policies No ICT equipment from the Ministry of Education; No Funding for computer laboratory How information needs are currently met, and INSTI/CSIR Library; CTA; Faculty from where or by whom Library; FAO Library Information needs met University research papers; Current textbooks; current journal articles Problems with ICM Funds to pay for databases; ICT equipment; Training of person in ICM Why institution were Major Tertiary Agric Institution; Question and Answer service; Middle Zone (Provides a balanced coverage of the sample studies) Other observations

55

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen To mobilize farmers and fishermen, gather and disseminate information to them Farmers; Fishermen 1 3 10 Kumasi; Takoradi; Cape Coast, Koforidua, Ho, Tamale, Bolgatanga, Was and Sunyani-

Field of Specialisation Number of Professional Staff Number of Clerical Staff Number of Temporary Staff Branches:

Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken Target audience Extent of interaction Collaboration/interaction with other institution

1.2billion = 100,000

CTA; Sonkofa Foundation Training in the use of the Internet 5 million farmers; 500,000 fishermen CTA Publications; Training; QAS Sankofa Foundation Financial Support National/sectoral policies Unavailability of computers; Lack of Training in the use of ICTs. How information needs are currently met, and Ministry of Agric Library; University from where or by whom of Ghana Library; INSTI, CTA Information needs met Local content Information; Visual/Pictorial Information such as videos, VCD Problems with ICM Inadequate professional staff; Inadequate room space Why institution were Farmers Association, Southern Zone (Represents as farmer organization) Other observations

56

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Kuapa Kokoo To empower small-scale cocoa farmers to increase their income and improve on their livelihoods Mobilising, education and training; Purchasing of Cocoa; Providing financial services 10 40 80 Kumasi, Mampong, Sefwi-Wiaswo-

Field of Specialisation

Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Annual budget Source of funding

Not stated

Profit from Cocoa Purchases, Interest on Loans, and Farmers Subscription Programme/projects undertaken Training in database management, Video Training Workshop Target audience Cocoa Farmers 400,000 Extent of interaction None Collaboration/interaction with other institution Ministry of Food & Agric Information exchange; Cocoa Marketing Board Fair Trade Education Programmes National/sectoral policies Poor telecommunication network; Expensive Internet Connectivity How information needs are currently met, and Cocoa Research Institute from where or by whom Research staff; Cocoa Marketing Board - Library Information needs met Materials on cocoa in local languages; visual/pictorial Information on cocoa Problems with ICM Lack of professional staff in Agricultural information provision; Delays in updating information Why institution were Cooperative society, Middle Zone (National balanced) Other observations

57

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Kwadaso Agricultural College To provide high quality, dynamic and demand-driven training programmes in Agriculture Training of Frontline Middle-level Agricultural Extension Workers Not known Not known Not known None

Field of Specialisation Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken Target audience

Not known

Government of Ghana Internet Connectivity Middle-level Agricultural Students 500 Extent of interaction CTA Publications; Training Programme Collaboration/interaction with other institution Crops Research Institute Information Sharing; University of Cape Coast Seminars/Workshops National/sectoral policies Low access to ICTs; Poor Internet Connectivity How information needs are currently met, and Ministry of Agric Directors of from where or by whom Agriculture; CTA Publications; Radio Programmes Discussions and Agriculture Information needs met Visual of pictorial information; Local language materials in Two and Fante Problems with ICM Connectivity, Inadequate agricultural publications Why institution were Second-cycle Training Institute, Middle Zone Other observations

58

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Ministry of Food and Agriculture, ECommerce Unit To provide electronic information on prices and avenues of marketing to farmers Online Agricultural Information 5 5 1 Hohoe, Techiman, Sekondi, AgonaSwedru; Pokuase-

Field of Specialisation Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken

470millin = 417,000

IICD Network Administration; Dataflow Management Target audience Small-Medium Scale Producers 100,000 Extent of interaction CTA Publication; Training Programmes, QAS Collaboration/interaction with other institution GAINS Seminars/Workshops, Information Ghana Nat. Assoc. of Farmers & Fishermen Information provision National/sectoral policies Poor telecommunication services; High Cost of Company How information needs are currently met, and Farmers Associations; Research from where or by whom Institutes; CTA Material Information needs met Journal Articles; Visual/Pictoral materials in agricultural marketing Problems with ICM Lack of Professional ICT Staff, Accommodation space Why institution were Information/IT Service, Southern Zone Other observations

59

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Policy Planning, monitoring and Evaluation Division (PPMED) Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of Agricultural Policies in the Country Planning, Monitoring; Evaluation 18 7 30 Kumasi, Takoradi; Koforidua; Ho; Cape Coast; Sunyani, Bolgatanga; Wa; Tamale

Objective/Mission Statement

Field of Specialisation Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches:

Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken Target audience Extent of interaction

Not known

Government of Ghana Network Administration Farmers and Fishermen 18 million CTA Publications; Consultants; Workshops; Training; QAS Collaboration/interaction with other institution IICD Donor Funding; CSIR Technical Assistance; GAINS Information Exchange National/sectoral policies Poor telecommunications network; High Internet Connectivity How information needs are currently met, and University of Ghana Library; CTA from where or by whom Publications; FAO - Publications Information needs met Local Language Materials; Current Journals in Agriculture and related subjects Problems with ICM Finance; Training in the areas of general agriculture Why institution were Government Department; Policy/Planning Southern Zone (Provides a National balance of selected sample) Other observations

60

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Field of Specialisation Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, Bunso To provide scientifically produced high-yielding plants Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Not known Not known Not known None

Not known

Government of Ghana Website Creation, Electronic Agric. Information Target audience Research Scientists 100; Plant Breeders 50, Farmers 500,000 Extent of interaction CTA Publications; Consultants, Workshops, Seminars, QAS Collaboration/interaction with other institution IITA Training; Int. Plant Genetic Institute Funding; GAINS Information exchange National/sectoral policies Bandwith problems; Poor telecommunication How information needs are currently met, and GAINS Library; FAO - Library from where or by whom Information needs met Current Journals in Agriculture specifically on plants Problems with ICM Funding; Equipment; Training in Software Usage as relating to information provision. Why institution were Research Institute; QAS; Southern Zone Other observations

61

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution Objective/Mission Statement Ghana Broadcasting Corporation; URA Radio To provide information, education and entertainment in order to get people out of poverty and deprivation for the development of the national General Broadcasting 28 12 5 18 None Ghana,

Field of Specialisation Number of Professional Staff Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Number of Part-Time Staff Branches: Annual budget Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken Target audience Extent of interaction

1billion = 84,000

Government of Commercialisation

700,000 800,000 listerners Spore Magazine, SDI,QAS,DORA, Seminars Consultants, publication, training Collaboration/interaction with other institution National/sectoral policies Competitiion from private radio stations; Cost of Internet Connectivity How information needs are currently met, and Radio Programmes, e.g.; from where or by whom Newspapers; TV Programmes; University Research Papers Information needs met Local Content Materials; Journal Articles; Briefings/Summaries; CTA Publications Problems with ICM Staffing; Accommodation, Training for the Staff of the Corporation Why institution were Media/Radio; Northern Zone (National balance) Other observations

62

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution: Objective/Mission Statement: Field of Specialisation: Number of Professional Staff: Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Graphic Communications Group Newspapers Publishing Offices in all the 10 Regional Capitals Annual budget: Source of funding Private and Government Subsidy Programme/projects undertaken: Target audience: General Public (5 million) Extent of interaction None Collaboration/interaction with other institution Frederick Elbert Foundation; Media Africa; (Training/Exchange of Information) National/sectoral policies: National Communications Policy How information needs are currently met, and Libraries; Internet; International from where or by whom: Correspondents Information needs met Gender Issues, CTA Booklets Problems with ICM Access to Current websites; training in ICM Why institution were Major newspaper with nationwide coverage Other observations: Has irregular articles on agricultural information

63

LIST OF KEY INSTITUTIONS Name of Institution: Objective/Mission Statement: Field of Specialisation: Number of Professional Staff: Number of Technical Staff Number of Clerical Staff Branches: Annual budget: Source of funding Programme/projects undertaken: Target audience: Extent of interaction Collaboration/interaction with other institution Afram Publishing Company Textbook/general publishing -

Private General Public None Canadian Overseas Development through Education (CODE) Funding for publications National/sectoral policies: Ghana Book Policy How information needs are currently met, and Individual contacts; libraries. from where or by whom: Information needs met Indigenous information; local language materials Problems with ICM Professional staff; equipment Why institution were Major private publishing house in Ghana Other observations: Could be a good avenue for the publication of local agriculture information.

64

ANNEX 4: LIST OF INSTITUTIONS/PERSONS INTERVIEWED

No. 1. LIST OF INSTITUTIONS Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, P.O. Box 7, Bunso, Ghana Ghana Broadcasting Corporation Upper Region Radio (URA Radio) P. O. Box 42, Bolgatanga, Ghana E-Commerce Project Ministry of Food and Agriculture P. O. Box MB 37 Accra. Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate P. O. Box MB37, Accra, Ghana University Library University for Development Studies P. O. Box 1350, Tamale. Ghana Adventist Development and Agency (ADRA) P.O. Box 1435, Accra. Ghana. Relief PERSON INTERVIEWED Ms. Regina Dogoe, Librarian Tel. : 233-081-24124 Mr. Adam Cockra, Director Tel: 233-027-22422 Mr. E. Addo-Dankwa Project Manager Tel: 233-21-670575 E-mail: addo_dankwa@yahoo.com Ms. Adelaide Boateng-Siriboe Acting Director Tel: 233-21-668523 233-21-665763 Mr. Edwin Thompson Assistant Librarian Tel: 233-071-01167 E-mail: edstommy@yahoo.co.uk Mrs. Victoria Daaku Programme Director Tel: 233-21-220779 233-21-220243 E-mail: vicdaaku@yahoo.com Mr. J.N. Berchie Head, Communication Unit Tel: 233-51-60396 Mr. K. Djan Head of Administration Tel: 233-51-23227 E-mail: admin@kuapakokoo.gh.com Prof. S. K. Offei, Dean of College Tel: 233-21-500180 E-mail: agricdean@ug.edu.gh Mr. John Awuku-Dziwornu Chairman Tel: 233-21-664408 E-mail: dzijoh@yahoo.com Prof. Richard T. Awuah Dean of Faculty of Agric, Univ. Post Office, Kumasi Tel: 233-51-60361 Mr. Ernest Akpenyo The Librarian and Asst. Principal Tel: 233-51-50134

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Crops Research Institute P. O. Box 3785, Kumasi, Ghana. Kuapa Kokoo P. O. Box AN23044 Kumasi. Ghana College of Agriculture University of Ghana Legon. Ghana Ghana Nat. Assoc. of Farmers and Fishermen P. O. Box M37, Accra. Ghana Faculty of Agriculture Kwame Nkrumah Univ. of Sci. & Tech., Kumasi. Ghana Kwadaso Agricultural College PMB, Academy Post, Kwadaso, Kumasi, Ghana

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

65

13.

Graphic Corporations Group P. O. Box 742, Accra AFRAM Publishing Ltd. P. O. Box M18, Accra

14.

Ms. Cardine Boateng Sewor Reportes Tel: Mr. Eric Offei Managing Director Tel: 233-21-774248

66

ANNEX 5: STAKEHOLDERS VALIDATION MEETING HELD IN, ACCRA, ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2007 ATTENDANCE
NO. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. NAME Prof. A. A. Alemna Ibrahim Addy Emmanuel Nana Bekoe Prince Animante E. Addo-Dankwa Joel Sam Ibrahim Inusah Prince Deh John A. Dziwornu Regina Dogoe ADDRESS Univ. of Ghana, Legon Univ. of Ghana, Legon Univ. of Ghana, Legon MOFA, Accra MOFA, Accra GAINS GINKS GINKS GNAFF Plant Genetic E-MAIL ADDRESS aalemna@yahoo.com ibrahimaddy@yahoo.com enanabekoe@yahoo.com panimante@yahoo.co.com nyareba@gmail.com egy28@yahoo.co.uk ibrahiminusal@yahoo.com papalenzd@yahoo.com dzijoh@yahoo.com Radogoe2000@yahoo.com

A validation workshop was organized for the stakeholders at which the findings were presented for discussion. Unfortunately, only three of the interviewees were able to attend. The rest sent representatives who were mainly their Librarians and ICT Specialists. Interestingly, all the people present were also contributors to the interview process when their Organistions/Institutions were visited. DISCUSSIONS Comments from members present point to the fact that MOFA Library has been in such a deteriorating state and that has accounted for its low ranking as source of information because of the low level of support from management. However, efforts are being put in place to uplift the status of the library. There is the need to support publicity effort of the library. Even though CTA made it clear to the management that the library will receive substantial support once it is organized, much has not been seen in that direction. MOFA Library could serve as a repository of policy documents for use by institutions and other organisations, as at now, the library is not serving that purpose. (This was a suggestion from participants) CTA also has plans to support more radio stations. Telecentres: Telecenters or CICs have a major problem, because there was no information needs assessment in the initial stages of their establishment. Sustainability has now become an issue. MOFA for sometime now has been struggling with the issue of connectivity for the centres. It has been recognized that emphasis was placed too much on connectivity rather than content. It will also be necessary to recommend to CTA to build capacity in information management and dissemination.

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ANNEX 6: BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Alemna, A. A. (1993) Agricultural Information Provision in Ghana : The Role of the Library. IAALD Quarterly Bulletin XXXVIII, 1. pp.22-26 Alemna, A. A. and J. Sam (2006) Critical Issues in Information and Communication Technologies for Rural Development in Ghana. Information Development, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 236-240 Armah, A.K. and F.K. Nunoo (2006) Critical issues that make reconciling Ghanas coastal zone fisheries with conservation: an uphill task. American Fisheries Society Symposium, 2006, pp. 587-594. Frempong, G. K. and Atubra, W. H. (2001) Liberalisation of TELECOMS: the Ghanaian experience. Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 25, pp. 197-210. Ghana Living Standards Survey. Ghana Statistical Service, 2005 Ghanadistricts.com Regional Population Figures [online] available at http://ghanadistricts.com/region. Accessed 15th March, 2007. Ghana. Government (2003) The Ghana ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy. Accra, Graphic Communications Group. Ghana Living Standards Survey. Ghana Statistical Service, 2005. Ghana. Ministry of Food and Agriculture (2002) Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP). Accra: Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ghana: Ministry of Food and Agriculture (2003) Ghana: Post-harvest fisheries overview. Accra : Ministry of Food and Agriculture Ghana Press, Media, TV, Radio and Newspapers [online] available at http://www.pressreference/Fa-GU/Ghana. Accessed on 14th March, 2007 Ghana Population Data Analysis Report. Ghana Statistical Service, 2005. Ghana, 2000 Population and Housing Census. Accra : Ghana Statistical Services, March, 2002. Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), (2007) State of the Ghanaian Economy. Legon : University of Ghana National Communications Authority (2006) Industry Statistics: Sector Overview [online] Available at http://www/nca/org.gh Accessed on 4th Aug., 2006. Wills, J.B. Agriculture and Land Use in Ghana. Oxford : University Press, 1962

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