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Farmers in UW region benefit from GIZ’s easy access to certified agro-inputs forum
The Market Oriented Agriculture Programme in North West Ghana (MOAP-NW) under the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has facilitated a forum for farmers to have easy access to certified agro-inputs in rural communities of the Upper West Region
The annual forum which was initiated in 2021 was facilitated in 42 locations across the MOAP-NW operational area, aimed at ensuring that at least 15,000 smallholder farmers had access to agro-inputs and also received education on good agriculture practices from experts.
The forum targets farmers and members of the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in the 11 districts of the Upper West Region, 2 districts in the Savannah and Mamprugu-Moagduri in the North East Region
Addressing journalists at one of the forums at Fian in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District of the Upper West Region, the MOAP-NW Input and Crop Protection Specialist, Mr Emile Aman said over the years, the forum had yielded impressive results and expanded farmers’ access to certified seeds and inputs leading to quality production.
He explained that it provided a platform for farmers, input dealers, researchers and other stakeholders to meet and discuss issues such as crop production techniques, soil fertility management, pest and disease control, irrigation and post-harvest management to enable them learn and network
‘’As inputs has become more expensive, affecting farmers income and productivity, so as advise on the right and efficient use of inputs become even more important, hence, to curb this challenge, advisory services and agro inputs are brought to the doorstep of farmers to complement every budget”, he said.
Mr Aman said the forum also aimed at facilitating linkages between MOAP trained input dealers and the VSLA groups who were mainly famers to create a platform for experts to educate them on health and how to apply fertilizer to their farms.
He advised farmers to buy inputs from certified input dealers who had the capacity to educate them on how to apply them on their various farms
The MOAP-NW Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, Madam Fadila Ahmed Tijani said access to farm inputs in the rural areas had become a challenge to farmers and stressed that the fora were therefore to enable farmers have access affordable inputs at their doorstep.
She urged farmers and other actors in the agriculture industry to deepen their linkages to improve agricultural production in the region.
According to her said this year’s forum was organized by the inputs dealers themselves and the VSLA group and facilitated by MOAP-NW and expressed hope that it would be maintain in the project area even after the project existed.
A farmer in the Fian community, Madam Evelyn Naazie acknowledged the impact of the fora on their farming activities stressing that it helped to increase their access to inputs without any stress
The inputs dealers at the forum also highlighted some of the benefit of the initiative and promised to ensure its sustainability in the area.
The Forum was organized in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) through the Department of Agriculture and the Plant Protection and Regulatory Service Directorate (PPRSD).
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK WA
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
