Minister calls for pragmatic measures
against desertification
Government to introduce information
management system
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 January 2002- Major Courage Quashigah, Food and Agriculture (MOFA) Minister, on Tuesday expressed concern about new standards of pesticide use being demanded by the European Union (EU) and said they threatened Ghana's dream of increasing the volume of exports through premium products.
He said EU's requirements regarding pesticides were becoming more stringent, affecting Ghana's pineapple, one of its main non-traditional exports. "Pesticides that are not registered in the EU and those the EU does not have relevant data on are not accepted," Major Quashigah said.
He expressed his concern in a speech Mr Vesper Suglo, Director of Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate of MOFA, read for him at a three-day national training of trainers course on pesticide management for ''Good Agricultural Practices Certification (GAP) for stakeholders in the pineapple industry'' at Amasaman, near Accra.
It is to enable farmers to comply with the certification criteria concerning crop protection and to introduce EU requirements on to the farm level and to train other farmers.
The workshop, that MOFA and the German Development Co-operation (GTZ) organised, attracted over 20 farm managers, extension staff of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and farmers from the Greater Accra Region.
Participants would discuss: "Pesticide classification", "Choice of the right chemicals", "First aid and emergency measures" and "Harvest and post-harvest treatment". Major Quarshigah said the country had experienced growth in horticulture over the past few years.
"The growth has been led by pineapples, the export of which increased from 15,319 tonnes in 1994 to 25,124 tonnes in 1997, suffering a reduction in 1998 due to bad weather.
"Though Ghana cannot hope to compete in volume against competitors such as Cote d'Ivoire, it would continue to increase its value of exports by positioning its pineapples as a premium product known for its outstanding flavour and appearances," he said.
Dr Mathias Braun, Team Leader, Ghanaian-German Project for Integrated Crop Protection, said the pineapple export industry was in the process of being certified as meeting the standards of leading European retailers.
He said producing to meet these standards would ensure the future of pineapple farming since it would have ready markets adding that the "GAP Certification" was meant to achieve that end.
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Minister calls for pragmatic measures
against desertification
Cape Coast (Central Region) 23 January 2002- The Central Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Edumadze on Monday said extra care must be taken to mitigate the extend of degradation of the environment to save the country from becoming a desert in the near future.
Apart from the Northern regions, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and the Coastal savanna belt of the country, stretching across the Central, Greater Accra and Volta regions have also been identified as desertification prone zones.
The Minister was opening a one-day workshop on " National Action Plan (NAP) to combat drought and desertification at Cape Coast.
He said the Plan, which was sponsored by the United Nations Sudano Sahalian Office (UNSO) is to be implemented under the Savanna Resource Management Project and seeks to, among others, restore, protect and conserve natural resources by involving stakeholders.
Mr Edumadze said the NAP places emphasis on evolving sustainable rural/ local development programmes for vulnerable areas, based on participating mechanisms and the integration of poverty eradication strategies.
This, he said, would be achieved by strengthening the capacity of local authorities and ensure the active involvement of the local communities in the entire process of combating desertification, right from the planning to the implementation level.
The Minister appealed to district environmental committees to develop their own action plans to address environmental issues in their areas. The regional Programme Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Felix Addo- Okyireh, on his part said the annual rate of deforestation in the country has been calculated at 1.30 percent.
He however, stressed the need for the country to take pragmatic and positive steps to reduce poverty to save the land and forest from further degradation.
The participants at the workshop included members from the district assemblies, media, Ministry of Agriculture, NGOs were taken through, land and water management, forest resource management and socio-economic activities.
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Government to introduce information
management system
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 January 2002-The Ministry of Information would soon introduce a mechanism for efficient management of public information as part of government's resolve to ensure accurate dissemination of reporting, the sector Minister Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey said on Tuesday.
"We want to eliminate speculative and at times, wrong information peddling," he told a gathering of media people and Ministers in Accra. The occasion also provided an informal forum for the media to interact with the politicians, who in most cases, are the newsmakers.
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey lauded the watchdog role of the media, saying the profession has been doing its best, notwithstanding constraints that confronted it. He said government regarded the media as partners in development. It would therefore do its best to facilitate its growth and efficiency.
The event was the first in the last decade where a group of ministers of state socialised with media practitioners. They wined and danced to highlife music provided by the "Pace Setters" band of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
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Journalists asked to offer constructive
criticism
Cape Coast (Central Region) 23 January 2002- The District Chief Executive for Asikuma-Odoben- Brakwa, Mr. Sampson Anfako at the weekend appealed to the press to offer constructive criticism in their efforts at helping the government to improve upon the socio-economic conditions of the people.
He said since the pen can destroy and also build, the press should always cross-check their stories with the authorities concerned before they put them into print. Mr Anfako was addressing a soiree jointly organised by the district assemblies in the region for members of the press at Cape Coast in recognition of their hard work.
He said even though the constitution guarantees the freedom of the press it should not be used to destroy, but to build. The DCE said the government recognises the role of the media in the last general elections and urged them to continue with their good work and also ensure fair play.
He assured the press of their co-operation and preparedness to give them the necessary information needed for their work. Mr Ebow Sackey of GBC on behalf of the media thanked the assemblies for appreciating their work and called for more of such interactions to ensure peaceful co-existence between the media and the assemblies.
Nana Kodwo Condua the VI, Omanhene of Edina traditional area also urged the press to balance their reports to ensure fair play.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 23 January 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor has named Mr Kofi Darkwa, a businessman, as Chairman of the reconstituted Board of Directors of Ghana Heavy Equipment Company Limited.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Information in Accra on Tuesday said Mr Amponsa Dadzie of the National Trust Holding Company Limited and Mr Acheamfour Yeboah, a businessman, Togbe Avudzega Sogah, businessman, Mr A. Bekoe, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Ransford Yaw Agyepong, Member of Parliament for Suhum, as other members of the board.
The rest are Mr Stephen Adoma-Yeboa, Member of Parliament for Dormaa East and Mr Malahami Yidana, Chief Executive Officer.
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