Features
Fact sheet about soya bean and groundnut in Ghana
It is interesting to note that:
- Quarshie soya bean variety was released in 2003. Yield potential is 2.0-2.4 t/ ha, days to maturity is 110-115 days, resistant to pod shattering (up to 15 per cent shattering), relatively tolerant to low soil P, seed colour is cream, excellent seed quality, good seed storability, high and stable yield across many environments, tolerant to common soy[1]bean pests and diseases, relatively tolerant to low soil P and trap-crop for Striga hermonthica. It is suitable for Guinea and Sudan Savanna, and transitional zone. It can be processed for oil; can be used as meal for the animal feed industry; can be processed for human consumption and made into products including soy milk, soy flour, soy protein, tofu and many retail food products. Soybeans are used also in many non-food (industrial) products.
- Favour soya bean variety was released in 2012. It has high grain yield up to 3.5t/ha, has high leaf output, has high efficacy with artificial inoculants and it is taller than existing varieties: less losses with mechanical harvester. It is applicable to Guinea and Sudan Savanna, and transitional zone. It produces higher quality soymilk than existing varieties; used for kebab; fixed quantity of biological nitrogen into the soil.
- Suong-Pungun soya bean variety was released in 2012. Early-maturing (85-92 days) attribute, yield potential is 1.5-1.8 t/ ha, has high protein content (42-45 per cent), resistant to pod shattering (less than 5 per cent), excellent seed quality, good seed storability, high and stable yield across many environments, resistant to drought and tolerant to common soy[1]bean pests and diseases. It is suitable for Guinea and Sudan Savanna, and transitional zone. It can be processed for oil; can be used as meal for the animal feed industry; can be processed for human consumption and made into products including soy milk, soy flour, soy protein, tofu and many retail food products. Soybeans are used in many non-food (industrial) products.
- Songda soya bean variety was released in 2012. Maturity period is 110-115 days, yield potential is 1.8- 2.2 t/ ha, pod shattering score: up to 20 per cent, excellent trap-crop for S. hermonthica (as a trap crop) and days to 50 per cent flowering: 45 days. It is applicable to Guinea and Sudan Savanna, and transitional zone. It can be processed for oil; can be used as meal for the animal feed industry; can be processed for human consumption and made into products including soy milk, soy flour, soy protein, tofu and many retail food products. Soybeans are used in many non-food (industrial) products
- Afayak soya bean variety was released in 2012. Yield potential is 2.0-2.4 t/ ha, flower colour is purple, plant height is 40-45 cm, it has medium maturity attribute, resistant to pod shattering (up to 8 per cent shattering), above average tolerance to common soybean pests, resistant to pod shattering and has excellent seed quality. It is suitable for Guinea and Sudan Savanna, and transitional zone. It can be processed for oil; can be used as meal for the animal feed industry Processed for human consumption and made into products including soy milk, soy flour, soy protein, tofu and many retail food products. Soybeans are used in many non-food (industrial) products.
- Oboshie groundnut variety was released in 2012. Its seed colour is brown and potential yield is 2.6t/H. Oboshie matures from 105-110 days. It is applicable to Savannah, forest-savannah transition zone and semi deciduous forest. It has good flavor, sweet taste, confectionery, etc.
- Crops Pion groundnut variety was released in 2017. It is high-yielding and its potential yield is 2.8t/ha. Besides, it is tolerant to rosette and other foliar diseases, aflatoxin-tolerant, high oil content, and early-maturing. It is suitable for forest agro ecology. It can be used for making soup, for oil production while crop residues can be used for hay. Also, residue from oil processing is used as an animal feed and as a soil fertiliser.
- Crops Agbeyeye groundnut variety was released in 2017. Potential yield is 1.9- 2.3t/ha. It matures early, that is, between 90 and 95 days. Have high biomass, tolerant to rosette and other foliar diseases and has high oil content. Crops Agbeyeye is applicable to transition zone and Northern Ghana. It is used for making soup, for oil production while crop residues can be used for hay. Also, residue from oil processing is used as an animal feed and as a soil fertiliser.
- Crops nkatie (groundnut) variety was released in 2017. Potential yield is between 2.2 and 2.4. It matures early, that is, from 90-95 days. Have high biomass, tolerant to rosette and other foliar diseases, high oil content and bold red seed colour. It is suitable for transition zone and Northern Ghana. It is used for making soup, for oil production and crop residues can be used for hay. Also, residue from oil processing is used as an animal feed and as a soil fertiliser.
- Nkatesari groundnut variety was released in 2005. It matures in 115 days and has potential yield of 2.2 ton/ ha. Its oil content is 47 per cent, resistant to both early and late leaf spot disease and has pods yield of 500kg/ha. It is applicable to Guinea and Sudan Savanna. Nkatesari is used for groundnut paste, has better resistance to foliar disease, tolerant to Cercospora leaf spot disease and records low percentage of plants infected by rosette virus disease.
Source: Manual of Agricultural Technologies
developed by
CSIR, MAG and MoFA
Page 61-63 & 52-54
On Sunday, October 11, 2026, it was the turn of Ghanaian Catholics in Finland to lead the singing in the church service of the African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland (ACCF).
It was indeed a spirit-filled feeling for worshippers present. And for the Ghanaian migrants, the occasion also brought back to them memories of church services in their home country, Ghana.
The ACCF has a roster for each country/community to sing from time to time. Next Sunday will be the turn of the Nigerian community. Other communities that usually sing are the Kenyan/Tanzanian community, the Cameroonian, the Ugandan, group, etc.
A powerful religious experience
The mass services of the Chaplaincy usually give a powerful religious experience and a display of cultural diversity, especially in occasions such as when the Bishop of Helsinki, Bishop Raimo Goyarrola, celebrated mass with the Chaplaincy on Pentecost Day, May 24, 2026.
There was a similar time of spiritual joy last month (September 27, 2026) when Emeritus Bishop Teemu Sippo, former Bishop of Helsinki, visited the Chaplaincy. Bishop Teemu was the main celebrant, assisted by the Chaplain, Reverend Father Thomas Otieno.
Last Sunday, Reverend Father Bernard Sor, a Ghanaian Catholic priest based in Austria, was the main celebrant in the mass service where he performed a rite of baptism. Fr Bernard had celebrated mass a few months ago when he visited his sister and her husband in Helsinki. 
All these well-attended religious occasions indeed leave lasting memories. The homilies (peaching) by the priests usually emphasize religious tenets such as the importance of loving and serving God in truth, existing in peace with our fellow humans to promote unity in diversity, etc.
Unity in diversity and a colourful display of cultures
The African Chaplaincy church services usually produce impressive displays of diverse cultures from different parts of Africa and elsewhere. The events are often spiced by rich cultural displays of dances and colourful attires which are a delight to watch.
On special occasions, members of the Ghanaian Catholic community, in their gay and colourful kente attire and with adowa dance and music, usually lead the procession into the church. Other communities such as the Cameroonian, Nigerian, Kenyan and Tanzanian as well as Sudanese/South Sudanese groups also put up well-choreographed performances from their cultures.
The African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland
The African Chaplaincy was founded on June 4, 2017, which was a Pentecost Sunday, in a Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Monsignor Emeritus Sippo S.C.I., the then Bishop of Helsinki, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Parish Church in Helsinki.
The Chaplaincy was created by Bishop Teemu in collaboration with the Diocesan body when they detected a great flocking of African immigrants to Finland, the majority of whom were Catholics. This was to give the immigrants a possibility to integrate into the Finnish society by worshiping as Catholics and in their African cultural identity.
The responsibility of the Chaplaincy was given by Bishop Teemu to Father Dr Leonard Wobilla Shwei, who is thus the first Chaplain and ably led the Chaplaincy. He was succeeded a few years ago by Father Thomas Otieno, who continues to move the Chaplaincy forward. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
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She did not find out he was cheating. She found out he was drowning.
It was two weeks after their beautiful wedding. The jollof was still in the fridge. A loan officer called her number-not his-and politely asked, “Madam, please tell your husband to pay his overdue loan. We have been calling him.”
That was how she discovered her new husband had entered their marriage with a hidden debt of over GH¢ 40,000. No cheating. No other woman. Just a financial secret.
And that is how many Ghanaian marriages begin to die. Not with a shout, but with a secret alert on a phone.
We prepare for the wedding. We do not prepare for the wallet.
What is money honesty?
Let me define it simply. Money honesty is not that you both earn the same. It is that you both know the same. It is the ability to sit down and say without fear:
“This is how much I earn.”
“This is how much I owe.”
“This is how I was raised to see money.”
“This is what scares me about money.”
Financial transparency is not about control. It is about clarity. You cannot build trust on top of secrets.
Many couples tell me, “Counsellor, we love each other, love will handle money.” I always answer, “Love is the car, but money honesty is the fuel. Love without honesty cannot move.”
How To Buy Your Marriage Insurance Today – My 5-Step Protocol
If you are engaged, newly married, or even 20 years in marriage, you can still fix this. At Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult—CPAC, this is what I give couples:
Step 1: The 90-Minute Money Naked Session.
No phones, no blame. Each partner writes down on paper: Monthly income, monthly debts, monthly family obligations, savings, and your biggest money fear. Then you exchange papers. Read it. Don’t react for 24 hours. Just absorb.
Step 2: Create OUR Money, YOUR Money, My Money.
You need three pots. OUR money for rent, food, school fees, utilities, properties, and the like— joint contribution. YOUR money and MY money—a small agreed allowance no one questions. This stops the feeling of being controlled.
Step 3: The No-Secret Debt Rule.
Agree from today: No new loan, no new hire purchase, no new family financial commitment above GHS 500 without telling each other first. Not permission, but information.
Step 4: Talk About Your Money Personality.
Are you a Spender or a Saver? Are you Risky or Safe? Most Ghanaian marriages are a Spender married to a Saver. Neither is wrong. But if you don’t understand your partner’s personality, you will call his saving “stinginess” and her spending “wastefulness.”
Step 5: Do a Monthly 30-Minute Money Date
Not an argument date. Light, with tea. “How did we do this month? What worried you? What should we plan for next month?” Couples who do this divorce far less.
My Final Word
Before you say “I Do” at the altar, have pre-marital counselling and also have the money talk on the sofa.
Ask your partner:
“If I lost my job today, how long can we survive?”
“What debt are you bringing into this marriage?”
“How much do you send to your family monthly and will that continue?”
If he or she gets angry that you asked, don’t get married yet. A person who is angry about accountability will be abusive about money.
Marriage insurance is not bought at Star Assurance or Enterprise. It is bought in honest conversations when no one is watching.
The wedding costs one day. The marriage costs a lifetime. Don’t enter a lifetime contract and covenant with hidden costs.
You can still insure your marriage today.
Source:
Counselor Prince Offei, CPAC’s founder, is a leading Mental Health Professional, Marriage Counsellor, Author, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, and Spectator Newspaper Columnist. He writes on relationships, marriage, parenting, special needs support, and their connection to mental health. For therapy, counselling, or enquiries, contact Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Accra on 0559850604 / 0551428486.
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