The activities of mining companies around the globe put the lives of residents in the communities in danger if proper measures are not instituted.
There are laws that compel mining companies to ensure that their activities do not pollute the environment and endanger the lives of their workers and occupants of the community they operate in. But in developing countries, especially, such laws are overlooked.
Apart from destroying the natural environment, such as cutting down trees, leaving dug-outs and mining waste in the open, the lives of many residents of mining communities in Ghana have also been put in danger by the spillage and leak of cyanide.
Cyanide is a potentially dangerous chemical that contains carbon and hydrogen chemical elements, as well as salts and complexes of cyanide with a variety of metals in solids and solutions.
The highly toxic chemical is used for the production of gold; recovery of the precious mineral is also aided by cyanide while it is also be used for cyanidation mill tailings and leach solutions.
Cyanide poisoning can occur through inhalation, ingestion, and skin or eye contact. One teaspoon of a two percent solution can kill a person.
Cyanide spillages by mining companies have been responsible for several ailments in mining communities around the country.
“Mining companies that cause pollution to the environment must not be left off the hook.
They must pay for the damage,” said Gifty Eugenia Kusi, Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Health Committee, with a clenched her fist.
Mrs. Kusi, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem, strongly advocates the Polluter Pays Principle and says “if we do not pay attention to the environment by monitoring the activities of mining companies, posterity will not forgive us.”
To enhance the protection of human health and reduce the potential for negative environmental impacts of cyanide spillage or leakage, as a result of the operation of mining companies, the International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI), in collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM), has been educating stakeholders in the gold mining industry.
So far, two workshops for building the capacity of stakeholders in the mining industry has been organised in West Africa since 2007.
They were focused mainly on how to effectively reduce risk and the impact of cyanide-related emergencies.
They ended with mining companies in Ghana voluntarily signing on to the International Cyanide Management Code.
Four mining companies in Ghana including Newmont Ahafo Mine, Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi and Iduaperiem Mines; Golden Star Wassa and Bogoso Mines as well as Gold Fields Tarkwa and Damang Mines signed on.
The code for the manufacture, transport and use of cyanide in the production of gold, is a voluntary industry programme for the gold mining industry, to promote responsible management of cyanide use in gold mining.
However, barely a week after the international conference, residents of Kwamebourkrom spotted dead fishes floating on the local stream, Yaakyi, a tributary of River Subri in the Asutifi District of the Brong Ahafo region. It was traced to cyanide spillage from Newmont Gold Ghana Limited, Ahafo Mine.
Officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hinted that the spillage of the deadly chemical into the river was as a result of the negligence of the mining company.
Isaac Osei, Brong Ahafo Regional Director of EPA, stated that Newmont failed to effectively monitor the rate of water flow into their environmental control dams and so when one of the dams began to overflow, the company could not detect it.
Though environmental management has been pointed out as a key corporate priority, it appears mining companies in Ghana have failed to integrate the subject into their continuum operations from exploration, through design and construction to mining, processing, rehabilitation and decommissioning.
Mr. Osei, who was obviously not happy about the negligence of mining companies, said despite persistent advice to Newmont to engage people to monitor its environmental control dams, the company ignored it and relied solely on machines and “because they have been relying on machines, when the overflow started, they could not detect it on time”.
Though Newmont has since paid compensations to the affected residents, Adiki Ayitevie, Regional Manager, Communications of Newmont, confirmed that the “minor chemical overflow contained gold ore active processing solution, including sodium cyanide.”
Luckily, the extent of the spillage was restricted to the Yaakyi stream, as remedial measures were taken before the polluted stream entered the River Subri, which minimized its impact to the affected area, comprising few hamlets, and the floating fishes which were detected dead by the people.
Newmont has provided a water storage plant that would supply the inhabitants of the affected area with alternative fresh water as their main source of water which is used for drinking, washing among other things.
At a day’s workshop on Implementing and Auditing International Cyanide Management Code in Accra, Joyce Aryee, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, noted that even though the cyanide code is a voluntary programme, the interest shown by mining companies demonstrates their willingness in improving the management of this potentially dangerous chemical and how they can enhance the safety of their workers, communities and the environment.
She urged companies to implement the code’s provisions and use the best management practices available to operate in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
“A safe working environment helps to maintain and motivate the human capital in order to increase productivity.”
To her, members of the chamber “continue to co-operate assiduously with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the mines inspectorate in adhering to environmental laws of this country”.
Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director of Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), says a research by the Non Governmental Organisation campaigning against irresponsible mining in Ghana revealed that pollutions of rivers and streams in mining areas have reached levels that pose serious threat to human and aquatic life.
Blaming the situation on weak environmental standards and regulations, Mr Owusu-Koranteng observed that many of the water bodies in Ghana’s mining areas have immense deposits of heavy metals which are residues of cyanide spillage and this is as a result of the bad environmental practices adopted by mining companies.
“There is no law so when companies spill out cyanide, they come out to say it was accidental,” he added.
Paul Bateman, President and Chairman of the International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI), confidently points out that aside promoting the code’s adoption and implementation, the institute will evaluate its implementation, manage the certification process and make information on the safe management practices for cyanide widely available.
The code was produced in 2002 after a cyanide spillage destroyed aquatic life in Romania in 2000, which compelled the United Nations and the International Mining Group organised a workshop that came up with the set of laws which now serves as an international standard for proper management of cyanide.
According to Norm Greenwald, Vice President and Secretary of ICMI, explained that companies that signed on to the code, which focuses exclusively on the safe management of cyanide and transportation for the recovery of gold and the requirements that related to financial assurance, accident prevention, emergency response, training, public reporting, stakeholder involvement and verification procedures, must have their operations audited by an independent third party to demonstrate their compliance.
Companies that adopt the code must have their mining operations that use cyanide to recover gold audited by an independent third party to determine the status of code implementation.
Audit results of companies that have signed on to the code would be made public as part of the measures to inform stakeholders of the status of cyanide management practices at certified operations.
Mr Greenwald emphasised that the code was intended to complement a mining company’s existing regulatory requirements and not to contravene rules and laws of an applicable political jurisdiction of a country that adopted the code.
“By becoming a signatory, a company commits to follow the code’s principles and implement its standards of practice, or in the case of producers and transporters, the principles and practices identified in their respective verification protocols,” he said.
The International Cyanide Management Code, which has been adopted by mining firms in the country, is expected to demonstrate to communities and stakeholders that they are protected from potential adverse impacts of cyanide.
However, Mr Greenwald thinks “the code will not serve as a guarantee that the world will be safe, but it can guarantee that companies that comply strictly with the code will reduce risks and the negative impacts of cyanide spillage in the environment.”
It’s been close to a year since the few gold mining companies in the country initialed the code and accepted to conform to international standards and best practice of cyanide management but while Ghanaians wait for when code signatories’ operations will be audited and the findings made public, Mrs. Kusi insists mining companies must be made to restore the environment in addition to compensating residents of the affected community.
Ms. Aryee reiterated that the adoption and strict compliance with the code would enhance good corporate image and engender goodwill.
“Remember that being a responsible company has far reaching consequences. It has consequences for your reputation and your ability to source funds from donors,” she said.
Emy
always happy
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Oil Exploration is Ghana Ready?
There has been much talk about Ghana’s oil find and expectations are high even with the announcement of a last quarter deadline for the drilling of the country’s first commercial oil from the Jubilee Oilfield.
Politicians, analysts, economists, movers and shakers of the economy continue to shed light on how Ghana can avert the resource curse, which has its devastating impacts.
“We do not have to look far to learn lessons. Our neighbors in Nigeria are prime examples because of bad governance of their oil resources,” said Kojo Asante, Head of Programs at Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
There is no doubt that the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in Ghana has raised the expectations of many Ghanaians.
Indications are that many Ghanaians see the oil discovery as the country’s last opportunity for national prosperity, which has eluded it after several years of dependence on cocoa, gold and timber.
President John Evans Atta Mills in his recent state of the nation’s address to Parliament was sure of the transformation of the Ghanaian economy as it becomes an oil-producing country.
President Mills explained that he would use the oil revenue that would accrue from the oil and gas discovery to propel the industrial development of Ghana.
This surely is good news as the people of Ghana currently depends largely on export of raw materials and would like to be counted among the rich industrial countries of the world.
The first major discovery on Ghana’s coastline was announced in June 2007 though exploration of oil and gas in Ghana started in 1896 in the onshore Tano basin.
31 wells were drilled between 1968 and the 1980s.
The oil industry in Ghana is significant as key international oil companies, including Tullow oil, Kosmos, Anadarko, ENI, Vitol, Afren, Hess, Vanco, Exxon Mobil and CNOOC have expressed interest in the sector.
The resource potential of the fields could be 4.5 billion though only 10 percent has been discovered so far.
The first phase of the oil exploration is expected to produce 120,000 barrels and 120 million cubic feet of gas daily while the second phase is projected to start by 2012 is expected to produce 250,000 barrels of oil and 250 million cubic feet gas per day.
It is projected that fiscal benefits for Ghana from the Jubilee Field per year base on a projected daily 120,000 barrels at the current world price of $60 per barrel would be $1 billion.
The amount represents less than 5.0 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product of over $18billion.
The benefit, which is in respect of royalties, income tax and interest payments, if is to be shared among 23 million Ghanaians, will result in each receiving a paltry sum of GH¢17 per day,
To the Minister of Energy, Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, this amount is “woefully inadequate.”
According to him, however, this is an opportunity for Ghana to effectively reduce foreign exchange requirements for the importation of oil while increasing the country’s export earnings.
But the main question most observers ask when the issue of Ghana’s commencement of oil drilling comes up is, “Is Ghana ready?”
The Energy Minister acknowledges that the main challenges to be encountered when production starts would include issues of regulation, accurate tax assessment and collection, management of oil revenue and the continued increase in the use of local goods and services in petroleum operations.
“The discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities has thrown up the challenge of how Ghana plans to manage its hydrocarbon industry and whether the country has the necessary legal and institutional framework in place to manage the industry,” he said.
Some of the existing petroleum legislations such as the Petroleum Exploration and Production Law, (PNDC Law 84), petroleum taxation and revenue laws, are yet to be amended.
PNDCL 84 spells out the rights and objectives of parties, and the sanctions to be applied in case of breaches and also provides a framework for the management of oil, gas exploration development and production. It states clearly that all petroleum products in its natural state are the property of Ghana.
Some experts have criticized the apparent delay in passing the law to regulate the sector ahead of the planned drilling, but government reacted by saying that it would not be rushed into commencing production.
Government says it would ensure that the exploration, development and production of petroleum are done in accordance with the terms of a petroleum agreement that is regulated and executed with the Minister of Energy.
Christina Samiah Yaba Nkrumah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, whose constituency is one of the communities along the shores where the oil was discovered, is advocating for good policies that would protect the interest of Ghanaians.
The Minister of Energy said it is currently working on legislations to address the concerns of most people, assuring that laws would be put in place to ensure the provision of an investor friendly environment for domestic and international investors and to safeguard the maximization of benefits that would accrue from oil and gas discovery.
Currently, there are no concrete laws to dictate the fiscal regime that would demarcate the right level of income tax, resource rent tax, royalty and bonus payments to ensure that the government secures a fair share of all profits.
“We need to keep an eagle eye on the contracts that we are signing with the oil companies,” said the Executive Secretary of Transparency International’s local chapter, Vitus Azim.
Another crucial step in the management of the country’s oil industry is the need to address the shortage of the human resources.
Government has announced plans to set up a Petroleum Regulatory Authority (PRA) to oversee the industry’s operation, but does it have the technically qualified personnel in place?
With Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) already lamenting over lack of professionals, it is likely that the emerging oil industry would come with human capital challenges.
This is not to say that GNPC does not have the capabilities, as it is on record that the corporation performed upstream assignments internationally in Angola and other places.
But it is a known fact that the upstream sector, which is technical as it entails exploring for prolific fields, is different from the downstream exploration.
“At this point, we acknowledge that we lack the know-how to manage this enormous resource but we are blessed with the experience of others,” said Francis Ackah, Engineering Manager at GNPC.
One can not rule out the issue of environmental challenges, but checks at the Environmental Protection Agency, the main body responsible for protecting the environment, shows that there is only one personnel with knowledge in oil.
We should also forget that oil is noted as a high risk for fire outbreaks. A visit to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Headquarters in Accra revealed an appalling state of the tenders, backup appliances, ambulances and command vehicles.
Also, one must also ask if our Ghana Navy is fully equipped to patrol and guard the coast of Ghana as the story of pair-trawling is not far-fetched.
“Government is fully aware of these challenges and is making every effort to overcome them,” said Joe Oteng.
Consequently, he said his outfit has put together a strategy to recruit and train professionals and other technical staff for the PRA.
There are many who agree with Catherine Abelema Afeku, MP for Evelua-Gwira, who thinks that it is important to get Ghana’s oil and gas governance right.
“We must not wait to have everything in place before exploration starts.”
Politicians, analysts, economists, movers and shakers of the economy continue to shed light on how Ghana can avert the resource curse, which has its devastating impacts.
“We do not have to look far to learn lessons. Our neighbors in Nigeria are prime examples because of bad governance of their oil resources,” said Kojo Asante, Head of Programs at Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
There is no doubt that the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in Ghana has raised the expectations of many Ghanaians.
Indications are that many Ghanaians see the oil discovery as the country’s last opportunity for national prosperity, which has eluded it after several years of dependence on cocoa, gold and timber.
President John Evans Atta Mills in his recent state of the nation’s address to Parliament was sure of the transformation of the Ghanaian economy as it becomes an oil-producing country.
President Mills explained that he would use the oil revenue that would accrue from the oil and gas discovery to propel the industrial development of Ghana.
This surely is good news as the people of Ghana currently depends largely on export of raw materials and would like to be counted among the rich industrial countries of the world.
The first major discovery on Ghana’s coastline was announced in June 2007 though exploration of oil and gas in Ghana started in 1896 in the onshore Tano basin.
31 wells were drilled between 1968 and the 1980s.
The oil industry in Ghana is significant as key international oil companies, including Tullow oil, Kosmos, Anadarko, ENI, Vitol, Afren, Hess, Vanco, Exxon Mobil and CNOOC have expressed interest in the sector.
The resource potential of the fields could be 4.5 billion though only 10 percent has been discovered so far.
The first phase of the oil exploration is expected to produce 120,000 barrels and 120 million cubic feet of gas daily while the second phase is projected to start by 2012 is expected to produce 250,000 barrels of oil and 250 million cubic feet gas per day.
It is projected that fiscal benefits for Ghana from the Jubilee Field per year base on a projected daily 120,000 barrels at the current world price of $60 per barrel would be $1 billion.
The amount represents less than 5.0 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product of over $18billion.
The benefit, which is in respect of royalties, income tax and interest payments, if is to be shared among 23 million Ghanaians, will result in each receiving a paltry sum of GH¢17 per day,
To the Minister of Energy, Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, this amount is “woefully inadequate.”
According to him, however, this is an opportunity for Ghana to effectively reduce foreign exchange requirements for the importation of oil while increasing the country’s export earnings.
But the main question most observers ask when the issue of Ghana’s commencement of oil drilling comes up is, “Is Ghana ready?”
The Energy Minister acknowledges that the main challenges to be encountered when production starts would include issues of regulation, accurate tax assessment and collection, management of oil revenue and the continued increase in the use of local goods and services in petroleum operations.
“The discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities has thrown up the challenge of how Ghana plans to manage its hydrocarbon industry and whether the country has the necessary legal and institutional framework in place to manage the industry,” he said.
Some of the existing petroleum legislations such as the Petroleum Exploration and Production Law, (PNDC Law 84), petroleum taxation and revenue laws, are yet to be amended.
PNDCL 84 spells out the rights and objectives of parties, and the sanctions to be applied in case of breaches and also provides a framework for the management of oil, gas exploration development and production. It states clearly that all petroleum products in its natural state are the property of Ghana.
Some experts have criticized the apparent delay in passing the law to regulate the sector ahead of the planned drilling, but government reacted by saying that it would not be rushed into commencing production.
Government says it would ensure that the exploration, development and production of petroleum are done in accordance with the terms of a petroleum agreement that is regulated and executed with the Minister of Energy.
Christina Samiah Yaba Nkrumah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, whose constituency is one of the communities along the shores where the oil was discovered, is advocating for good policies that would protect the interest of Ghanaians.
The Minister of Energy said it is currently working on legislations to address the concerns of most people, assuring that laws would be put in place to ensure the provision of an investor friendly environment for domestic and international investors and to safeguard the maximization of benefits that would accrue from oil and gas discovery.
Currently, there are no concrete laws to dictate the fiscal regime that would demarcate the right level of income tax, resource rent tax, royalty and bonus payments to ensure that the government secures a fair share of all profits.
“We need to keep an eagle eye on the contracts that we are signing with the oil companies,” said the Executive Secretary of Transparency International’s local chapter, Vitus Azim.
Another crucial step in the management of the country’s oil industry is the need to address the shortage of the human resources.
Government has announced plans to set up a Petroleum Regulatory Authority (PRA) to oversee the industry’s operation, but does it have the technically qualified personnel in place?
With Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) already lamenting over lack of professionals, it is likely that the emerging oil industry would come with human capital challenges.
This is not to say that GNPC does not have the capabilities, as it is on record that the corporation performed upstream assignments internationally in Angola and other places.
But it is a known fact that the upstream sector, which is technical as it entails exploring for prolific fields, is different from the downstream exploration.
“At this point, we acknowledge that we lack the know-how to manage this enormous resource but we are blessed with the experience of others,” said Francis Ackah, Engineering Manager at GNPC.
One can not rule out the issue of environmental challenges, but checks at the Environmental Protection Agency, the main body responsible for protecting the environment, shows that there is only one personnel with knowledge in oil.
We should also forget that oil is noted as a high risk for fire outbreaks. A visit to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Headquarters in Accra revealed an appalling state of the tenders, backup appliances, ambulances and command vehicles.
Also, one must also ask if our Ghana Navy is fully equipped to patrol and guard the coast of Ghana as the story of pair-trawling is not far-fetched.
“Government is fully aware of these challenges and is making every effort to overcome them,” said Joe Oteng.
Consequently, he said his outfit has put together a strategy to recruit and train professionals and other technical staff for the PRA.
There are many who agree with Catherine Abelema Afeku, MP for Evelua-Gwira, who thinks that it is important to get Ghana’s oil and gas governance right.
“We must not wait to have everything in place before exploration starts.”
Monday, February 15, 2010
Perking Up Ghana’s Waste Management
Over the last decade, specific emphasis has been placed on the sustainable use of environmental resources.
Most countries, both developing and developed, recognize that waste management is an issue of national concern to safeguard human health and the environment.
To address the issue of waste and its associated challenges, various international summits, including the 1992 Rio Summit and Agenda 21, have come up with internationally recognized principles for effective waste management, which includes reduction, recycling, reuse, safe collection, transportation and disposal.
According to the European Union (EU), under the Waste Framework Directive any unwanted or undesired material or substance that the holder discards or intends to discard can be described as waste. It is also referred to as rubbish, trash, garbage or junk depending upon the type of material and the regional terminology.
However, experts say it is very difficult to define waste since “items that some people discard have value to others.”
Currently in Ghana, private organisations that are championing the ‘Keep Ghana Clean’ campaign have ventured into waste management projects with Zoomlion Ghana limited to complement the efforts of Municipal, Metropolitan and District Assemblies (MMDAs) who have embarked on various initiatives.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) recently announced a fee-based solid waste refuse collection system, which took effect at the beginning of February 2010.
The house-to-house collection service, which attracts a minimal fee, is expected to absorb huge refuse that is generated by households and organisations.
Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) has pledged its support to the Fee-Based Solid Waste Refuse Collection arrangement.
ESPA also noted that it lacked capital to start the programme.
Evans Ewudzie Arthur, spokesperson for ESPA, called on stakeholders to educate Ghanaians in order to sensitize people to ensure the sustainability of the programme.
At the national level, a National Framework for Waste Management partially exist in the country, but the 1992 Constitution has no provision on the right of citizens to clean the environment.
A drive through some parts of the country shows heaps of waste in places like markets and along ceremonial roads and other important places.
Waste causes many negative impacts on the environment and society.
For example, food waste or sewage can cause a number of problems, including the emission of green house gases.
It also contributes to the pollution of water bodies such as the Odaw River in Accra, which has many sachets from purified water.
This is a clear example of how littering and indiscriminate disposal of waste can destroy water bodies in the country. While water packaging companies make a lot of profits, the sachets end up on the streets.
This development has contributed to the increasing poverty in our country, as people have to spend a lot of money on their health while the nation looses the needed human resource.
It is obvious that the consequences of waste on the environment and human health would slow the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.
The collection, treatment and disposal of waste would also reduce the negative impacts on the environment and society.
A study conducted by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment revealed that despite the presence of many waste contractors in the country, more than 50 percent of the waste generated in cities such as Tema, Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi were not collected.
Naa Demedeme, Director at the Sanitation Unit of the Ministry, in an interview, disclosed that the greatest problem facing the nation was inaccurate statistic since “it is difficult to identify the quantity of waste generated in any part of the country.”
“Based on the assumption that every individual generates about 0.5 kilograms per day, the figure can be multiplied by the total population to generate the quantity of waste in the country,” he added.
Households, industries and commercial activities in the country generate a lot of waste, but indications are that majority of these people get rid of their trash through illegal means.
Many private and public lands are being used as dumping sites. People pack black polythene bags and dump them anywhere without thinking about health implications.
Those who indulge in this kind of illegal dumping of waste claimed that domestic waste collection services provided by private companies, popularly known as “door-to door” usually charge outrageous money, causing people to wake up at dawn to dump waste in the streets.
In Ghana, waste collectors dump refuse at land fill sites and the situation has caused residents in such communities to protest on countless occasions against the dumping of waste in their vicinity.
In developed countries, waste is recycled by resorting to physical and biological reprocessing.
Five recycling companies have mushroomed in Ghana and if they are supported the problems associated with waste would be minimized.
Others are advocating the Polluter Pays Principle, which would require the polluting party to pay for the destruction of the environment.
The campaigners want waste generators to pay for appropriate disposal of waste that are generated from their activities, with special focus on the industrial community.
However, it is unfortunate that though this campaign has been ongoing for some time now, no major feat has been chalked and it is obvious that with time frustration would set in.
Under the Urban Environment Sanitation Project (UESP) of the World Bank support programme, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development is undertaking a pilot project with some selected schools to pick water sachets, which would be bought by recycling companies.
Indeed, economical value can be attached to waste, but the problem of sorting waste into the various components must be addressed.
Containers for disposing paper, plastic, bottles and the other types of waste must be placed at vantage points in the city and in other parts of the country for proper material separation.
Waste management companies have not been able to deliver effectively in the country, but this situation has caught the attention of Parliament, which has called for the passage of a law to control and standardize the operations service providers.
Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, disclosed that “the Ministry is serious about the collection and transportation of waste in the country.”
“Monitoring, collection and dumping of waste by Assemblies at land fill sites are messy and too discriminatory. We are not happy about the current state of affairs,” he said.
He also indicated that the Ministry would ask MMDAs to hold training sessions for the contractors to promote the efficient collection and transportation of waste.
Members of Parliament (MPs) called on government to support companies that were engaged in recycling and re-use of waste in the country, noting, “We appeal to manufacturing industries in the country to use recyclable materials and bio-degradable items for production.
They have therefore asked the Ministry to embark on a nationwide campaign to educate the general public on the need to prevent waste.
Most countries, both developing and developed, recognize that waste management is an issue of national concern to safeguard human health and the environment.
To address the issue of waste and its associated challenges, various international summits, including the 1992 Rio Summit and Agenda 21, have come up with internationally recognized principles for effective waste management, which includes reduction, recycling, reuse, safe collection, transportation and disposal.
According to the European Union (EU), under the Waste Framework Directive any unwanted or undesired material or substance that the holder discards or intends to discard can be described as waste. It is also referred to as rubbish, trash, garbage or junk depending upon the type of material and the regional terminology.
However, experts say it is very difficult to define waste since “items that some people discard have value to others.”
Currently in Ghana, private organisations that are championing the ‘Keep Ghana Clean’ campaign have ventured into waste management projects with Zoomlion Ghana limited to complement the efforts of Municipal, Metropolitan and District Assemblies (MMDAs) who have embarked on various initiatives.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) recently announced a fee-based solid waste refuse collection system, which took effect at the beginning of February 2010.
The house-to-house collection service, which attracts a minimal fee, is expected to absorb huge refuse that is generated by households and organisations.
Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) has pledged its support to the Fee-Based Solid Waste Refuse Collection arrangement.
ESPA also noted that it lacked capital to start the programme.
Evans Ewudzie Arthur, spokesperson for ESPA, called on stakeholders to educate Ghanaians in order to sensitize people to ensure the sustainability of the programme.
At the national level, a National Framework for Waste Management partially exist in the country, but the 1992 Constitution has no provision on the right of citizens to clean the environment.
A drive through some parts of the country shows heaps of waste in places like markets and along ceremonial roads and other important places.
Waste causes many negative impacts on the environment and society.
For example, food waste or sewage can cause a number of problems, including the emission of green house gases.
It also contributes to the pollution of water bodies such as the Odaw River in Accra, which has many sachets from purified water.
This is a clear example of how littering and indiscriminate disposal of waste can destroy water bodies in the country. While water packaging companies make a lot of profits, the sachets end up on the streets.
This development has contributed to the increasing poverty in our country, as people have to spend a lot of money on their health while the nation looses the needed human resource.
It is obvious that the consequences of waste on the environment and human health would slow the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.
The collection, treatment and disposal of waste would also reduce the negative impacts on the environment and society.
A study conducted by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment revealed that despite the presence of many waste contractors in the country, more than 50 percent of the waste generated in cities such as Tema, Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi were not collected.
Naa Demedeme, Director at the Sanitation Unit of the Ministry, in an interview, disclosed that the greatest problem facing the nation was inaccurate statistic since “it is difficult to identify the quantity of waste generated in any part of the country.”
“Based on the assumption that every individual generates about 0.5 kilograms per day, the figure can be multiplied by the total population to generate the quantity of waste in the country,” he added.
Households, industries and commercial activities in the country generate a lot of waste, but indications are that majority of these people get rid of their trash through illegal means.
Many private and public lands are being used as dumping sites. People pack black polythene bags and dump them anywhere without thinking about health implications.
Those who indulge in this kind of illegal dumping of waste claimed that domestic waste collection services provided by private companies, popularly known as “door-to door” usually charge outrageous money, causing people to wake up at dawn to dump waste in the streets.
In Ghana, waste collectors dump refuse at land fill sites and the situation has caused residents in such communities to protest on countless occasions against the dumping of waste in their vicinity.
In developed countries, waste is recycled by resorting to physical and biological reprocessing.
Five recycling companies have mushroomed in Ghana and if they are supported the problems associated with waste would be minimized.
Others are advocating the Polluter Pays Principle, which would require the polluting party to pay for the destruction of the environment.
The campaigners want waste generators to pay for appropriate disposal of waste that are generated from their activities, with special focus on the industrial community.
However, it is unfortunate that though this campaign has been ongoing for some time now, no major feat has been chalked and it is obvious that with time frustration would set in.
Under the Urban Environment Sanitation Project (UESP) of the World Bank support programme, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development is undertaking a pilot project with some selected schools to pick water sachets, which would be bought by recycling companies.
Indeed, economical value can be attached to waste, but the problem of sorting waste into the various components must be addressed.
Containers for disposing paper, plastic, bottles and the other types of waste must be placed at vantage points in the city and in other parts of the country for proper material separation.
Waste management companies have not been able to deliver effectively in the country, but this situation has caught the attention of Parliament, which has called for the passage of a law to control and standardize the operations service providers.
Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, disclosed that “the Ministry is serious about the collection and transportation of waste in the country.”
“Monitoring, collection and dumping of waste by Assemblies at land fill sites are messy and too discriminatory. We are not happy about the current state of affairs,” he said.
He also indicated that the Ministry would ask MMDAs to hold training sessions for the contractors to promote the efficient collection and transportation of waste.
Members of Parliament (MPs) called on government to support companies that were engaged in recycling and re-use of waste in the country, noting, “We appeal to manufacturing industries in the country to use recyclable materials and bio-degradable items for production.
They have therefore asked the Ministry to embark on a nationwide campaign to educate the general public on the need to prevent waste.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Josanti Improves Land Documents
As part of measures to secure land information from loss and degradation, government has engaged Josanti InfoImaging Limited to convert all documents at the land registration office into digital form.
The project, which is part of the Land Administration Project (LAP) would help the land registry commission and other land agencies to keep records electronically.
With funding from the World Bank, the project involves the intelligent scanning of all the manual land records of the Government of Ghana and Deed Registry at the Lands Commission into an electronic database for easy access by interested parties.
At a programme to announce the commencement of the project, Collins Dauda, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said, “It is expected that by the end of the project, manuscripts in the land registry would be digitalized to aid the segregation of records for easy search and location of documents.”
Records at the Land Registry, he said, play an important role for prospective buyers of property.
He advised people “to visit land registries in the country to conduct searches.”
It is expected that the project would aid the decentralization concept of land delivery services under the Land Administration Project.
“It is envisaged that through this project, land delivery services would be brought to the doorsteps of people,” the Minister stressed.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Josanti InfoImaging Limited, Joseph Amoh-Anti, told the gathering that land economist, surveyors and players in the land project had a period of 12 months to complete the project.
“We would execute the project in 12 months instead of 15 months, which means that it would be completed by the end of 2010.”
Making a dummy presentation of the digitalization process, Mr Amoh Anti educated the attentive gathering about how bounded materials in the Deed Registry would be intelligently scanned and indexed with all details.
“After scanning a bounded material, we preserve the records in the original state while creating electronic copies that are as close to the previous one that we meet in look and feel for off-site storage,” said the CEO of Josanti InfoImagining.
Through Electronic Records and Document Management Solution (ERDMS) software, individuals, researchers, the judiciary and investors would have access to land records with fewer or no human interventions.
He was optimistic that successful implementation of the project would prevent unauthorized access to protect function rights and access for constant vigilance over user actions.
Benjamin Armah Quaye, Head of Planning Unit, Land Administration Project, who made a presentation on behalf of the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Lands Commission, Dr. W. Odame Larbi revealed that the project was aimed at the e-land administration in Ghana.
According to him, current land administration depends on deteriorating hard copies of graphical maps, cadastral data and textual records that were stored under sub-standard conditions, leading to delay in the delivery of services.
“Coming on the heels of fire outbreaks at the ministry of Foreign Affairs and other public places, which led to the loss of vital document, we are happy that this project would secure the existing land information.
It would also enhance the transfer of original data to the National Archive,” he added.
The project, which is part of the Land Administration Project (LAP) would help the land registry commission and other land agencies to keep records electronically.
With funding from the World Bank, the project involves the intelligent scanning of all the manual land records of the Government of Ghana and Deed Registry at the Lands Commission into an electronic database for easy access by interested parties.
At a programme to announce the commencement of the project, Collins Dauda, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said, “It is expected that by the end of the project, manuscripts in the land registry would be digitalized to aid the segregation of records for easy search and location of documents.”
Records at the Land Registry, he said, play an important role for prospective buyers of property.
He advised people “to visit land registries in the country to conduct searches.”
It is expected that the project would aid the decentralization concept of land delivery services under the Land Administration Project.
“It is envisaged that through this project, land delivery services would be brought to the doorsteps of people,” the Minister stressed.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Josanti InfoImaging Limited, Joseph Amoh-Anti, told the gathering that land economist, surveyors and players in the land project had a period of 12 months to complete the project.
“We would execute the project in 12 months instead of 15 months, which means that it would be completed by the end of 2010.”
Making a dummy presentation of the digitalization process, Mr Amoh Anti educated the attentive gathering about how bounded materials in the Deed Registry would be intelligently scanned and indexed with all details.
“After scanning a bounded material, we preserve the records in the original state while creating electronic copies that are as close to the previous one that we meet in look and feel for off-site storage,” said the CEO of Josanti InfoImagining.
Through Electronic Records and Document Management Solution (ERDMS) software, individuals, researchers, the judiciary and investors would have access to land records with fewer or no human interventions.
He was optimistic that successful implementation of the project would prevent unauthorized access to protect function rights and access for constant vigilance over user actions.
Benjamin Armah Quaye, Head of Planning Unit, Land Administration Project, who made a presentation on behalf of the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Lands Commission, Dr. W. Odame Larbi revealed that the project was aimed at the e-land administration in Ghana.
According to him, current land administration depends on deteriorating hard copies of graphical maps, cadastral data and textual records that were stored under sub-standard conditions, leading to delay in the delivery of services.
“Coming on the heels of fire outbreaks at the ministry of Foreign Affairs and other public places, which led to the loss of vital document, we are happy that this project would secure the existing land information.
It would also enhance the transfer of original data to the National Archive,” he added.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Another Tomato Glut
It is the peak harvest season for tomatoes and a visit to market centres in especially the urban areas reveal an abundance of tomatoes selling at very cheap prices.
There are heaps of the vegetables everywhere, cartons sitting in the sun and some rotten ones on the ground at the mercy of passersby. The present situation has lead to tomato farmers in the country entertaining fears of the likely repetition of a glut in the system.
“Here it is again, the glut has descended upon us and the situation we thought back last year would not happen is staring at us and we appear helpless,” said Kojo Hammond, a tomato farmer for the past 25 years who said he had promised to be more prudent, and not plant so many tomatoes.
“This year has been a good year; the rains did not fail us. It came in time and the plants yielded more than I and most of the other farmers expected. It could also be because of the good farming practice we observed,” he added.
Patience Boabeng, a tomatoes trader at the Kaneshie market, is happy and says “I wish we would experience that throughout the year.”
For her, the over abundance of tomato is good for her pocket. During the dry season, just two months ago, nobody would have thought the markets would have been inundated with so many tomatoes with no buyers.
Market queens, who are the major buyers of tomatoes are cashing in on the development as they have taken advantage of the peak harvest to lower the price of a crate of tomatoes. Within the past two weeks, the prices of tomatoes have been reduced twice, hitting a rock-bottom price of GH¢75.
Cartons of tomatoes which were selling in the dry season for GH¢ 250 is now going for as low as GH¢75. Farmers and dealers believe it could go down.
Across the country, tomato farmers want the perennial problem of tomato glut which is followed swiftly by a shortage addressed.
A section of them in the Tono, Vea and Pwalugu irrigation areas of the Upper East Region have urgently appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to assist them to get better prices for their produce.
A tomato farmer at Bolgatanga, Odame Adufu, who made a passionate appeal on behalf of his colleagues in the Upper West, said if immediate measures are not taken by government to address the perennial problem of tomato glut, the country’s laudable agricultural policies would be defeated.
In view of the high cost of agro-chemicals, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs, as well as the high cost of land preparation, the high incidence of diseases and unreliable rain fall serve as an impediment to the activities of the farmers.
Though the farmers want government to intervene and ensure that the price of tomatoes are stabilized, especially during the peak season, market queens, who operate in the form of cartels, have expressed their opposition to any significant increase in the farm gate price of a crate of tomatoes.
Esther Ofoi, a market queen at the Agbobloshie market, let the cat out of the bag when she hinted that they plan to create shortages of the vegetable in urban centers if the determination of the price is not left in their hand.
Poor market of produce is also a major problem of the sector as there is usually no ready market to patronize the highly perishable tomatoes.
In most tomato growing areas, ripe tomatoes are left on the farms to rot while in the next few months, the dry season will rear it ugly head and consumers will desperately be in need of the vegetable.
The farmers say they wish they can safely transport their produce to the market centres to market some money, but their greatest impediment is the transportation system.
Just imagine farmers in the Northern part of the country waiting for traders from the south. When the market finally arrives, the usually over ripe tomatoes parked in 90 by 60 wooden boxes are transported down to the south.
The headache over the glut and post harvest loses experienced every year during the peak season can be a problem of the past if more is invested in industries that could process the raw tomato into finished product such as canned tomato paste.
Mr Odame Adufu suggested to the government to speed up with the divestiture programme of the Pwalugu Tomato Factory, which would absorb tomatoes produced in especially the Northern Region.
Kwabena Darko, Farms Operations Manager of the Northern Star Tomato Company at Pwalugu, divulged that the company had so far not been financed to be able to purchase the produce of the farmers in the region.
He however disclosed that the management of the company was liaising with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to source funding for the programme.
If Government spends about $500 million on importing rice, while domestic producers such as the tomato farmers complain of lack of funding, one wonders why money can not be pushed into the improvement of domestic production.
Government have on countless occasions re-iterated its premium on agriculture and keep encouraging farmers to produce for the domestic market and even for export to earn the country some foreign exchange, but not much is being done to empower the farmer to produce enough for subsistence and then for commercial purposes.
Northern Star Tomato Company is expected to be financed to buy all the produce of tomato farmers in especially the three Northern Regions while Trusty Foods Company, a private company, has for some time now been purchasing the farmers produce.
A new company based in Tema has announced its intention of buying from tomato cultivators, and this plan, if executed, is expected to save the farmers from financial constraints and the low prices from especially market queens.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kwesi Ahwoi, has therefore appealed to farmers to solidify their existence by forming strong groups so as to firmly fix prices, to avoid always being at the mercies the buyers.
Meanwhile, the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG) has cautioned tomato farmers in the country to be wary of entering into contract with companies with questionable offers for their produce. The association further alerted the farmers about some companies making mouth-watering offers to them in order to lure them into selling their produce to the companies on terms that are “too good to be true”.
Philip Abayori, President of the association, who warned the farmers against the background of an advertisement in the print media by a local tomato processing company based in Tema calling on local farmers to cultivate tomatoes for it to purchase, reminded the farmers of similar offers that were thrown at them during the last season, only for the company to renege on the agreement.
He said the perennial tomato glut over the years, especially in the Upper East Region, resulting from lack of market, was leading companies to take advantage to cheat the farmers.
In May 2008, Mr Abayori alleged that Trusty Foods signed a production agreement with the association to cultivate 5000 hectors of tomatoes that would be purchased by the company. Though under the agreement Trusty Food was suppose to pre-finance land preparation, supply of fertilizer, agro-chemical and hybrid seeds for the farmers, the company failed to comply, leaving the members of the association to use their own resources.
“With the difficulties we encountered with this company, it would be prudent if due diligence is conducted before any farmer enters into any agreement with any company.”
However, as the debate over who farmers are to sell to and whose duty it is to address the perennial glut of tomatoes during the peak harvest season rages on, investors should take note that there is potential money making venture just close to them.
There are heaps of the vegetables everywhere, cartons sitting in the sun and some rotten ones on the ground at the mercy of passersby. The present situation has lead to tomato farmers in the country entertaining fears of the likely repetition of a glut in the system.
“Here it is again, the glut has descended upon us and the situation we thought back last year would not happen is staring at us and we appear helpless,” said Kojo Hammond, a tomato farmer for the past 25 years who said he had promised to be more prudent, and not plant so many tomatoes.
“This year has been a good year; the rains did not fail us. It came in time and the plants yielded more than I and most of the other farmers expected. It could also be because of the good farming practice we observed,” he added.
Patience Boabeng, a tomatoes trader at the Kaneshie market, is happy and says “I wish we would experience that throughout the year.”
For her, the over abundance of tomato is good for her pocket. During the dry season, just two months ago, nobody would have thought the markets would have been inundated with so many tomatoes with no buyers.
Market queens, who are the major buyers of tomatoes are cashing in on the development as they have taken advantage of the peak harvest to lower the price of a crate of tomatoes. Within the past two weeks, the prices of tomatoes have been reduced twice, hitting a rock-bottom price of GH¢75.
Cartons of tomatoes which were selling in the dry season for GH¢ 250 is now going for as low as GH¢75. Farmers and dealers believe it could go down.
Across the country, tomato farmers want the perennial problem of tomato glut which is followed swiftly by a shortage addressed.
A section of them in the Tono, Vea and Pwalugu irrigation areas of the Upper East Region have urgently appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to assist them to get better prices for their produce.
A tomato farmer at Bolgatanga, Odame Adufu, who made a passionate appeal on behalf of his colleagues in the Upper West, said if immediate measures are not taken by government to address the perennial problem of tomato glut, the country’s laudable agricultural policies would be defeated.
In view of the high cost of agro-chemicals, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs, as well as the high cost of land preparation, the high incidence of diseases and unreliable rain fall serve as an impediment to the activities of the farmers.
Though the farmers want government to intervene and ensure that the price of tomatoes are stabilized, especially during the peak season, market queens, who operate in the form of cartels, have expressed their opposition to any significant increase in the farm gate price of a crate of tomatoes.
Esther Ofoi, a market queen at the Agbobloshie market, let the cat out of the bag when she hinted that they plan to create shortages of the vegetable in urban centers if the determination of the price is not left in their hand.
Poor market of produce is also a major problem of the sector as there is usually no ready market to patronize the highly perishable tomatoes.
In most tomato growing areas, ripe tomatoes are left on the farms to rot while in the next few months, the dry season will rear it ugly head and consumers will desperately be in need of the vegetable.
The farmers say they wish they can safely transport their produce to the market centres to market some money, but their greatest impediment is the transportation system.
Just imagine farmers in the Northern part of the country waiting for traders from the south. When the market finally arrives, the usually over ripe tomatoes parked in 90 by 60 wooden boxes are transported down to the south.
The headache over the glut and post harvest loses experienced every year during the peak season can be a problem of the past if more is invested in industries that could process the raw tomato into finished product such as canned tomato paste.
Mr Odame Adufu suggested to the government to speed up with the divestiture programme of the Pwalugu Tomato Factory, which would absorb tomatoes produced in especially the Northern Region.
Kwabena Darko, Farms Operations Manager of the Northern Star Tomato Company at Pwalugu, divulged that the company had so far not been financed to be able to purchase the produce of the farmers in the region.
He however disclosed that the management of the company was liaising with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to source funding for the programme.
If Government spends about $500 million on importing rice, while domestic producers such as the tomato farmers complain of lack of funding, one wonders why money can not be pushed into the improvement of domestic production.
Government have on countless occasions re-iterated its premium on agriculture and keep encouraging farmers to produce for the domestic market and even for export to earn the country some foreign exchange, but not much is being done to empower the farmer to produce enough for subsistence and then for commercial purposes.
Northern Star Tomato Company is expected to be financed to buy all the produce of tomato farmers in especially the three Northern Regions while Trusty Foods Company, a private company, has for some time now been purchasing the farmers produce.
A new company based in Tema has announced its intention of buying from tomato cultivators, and this plan, if executed, is expected to save the farmers from financial constraints and the low prices from especially market queens.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kwesi Ahwoi, has therefore appealed to farmers to solidify their existence by forming strong groups so as to firmly fix prices, to avoid always being at the mercies the buyers.
Meanwhile, the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG) has cautioned tomato farmers in the country to be wary of entering into contract with companies with questionable offers for their produce. The association further alerted the farmers about some companies making mouth-watering offers to them in order to lure them into selling their produce to the companies on terms that are “too good to be true”.
Philip Abayori, President of the association, who warned the farmers against the background of an advertisement in the print media by a local tomato processing company based in Tema calling on local farmers to cultivate tomatoes for it to purchase, reminded the farmers of similar offers that were thrown at them during the last season, only for the company to renege on the agreement.
He said the perennial tomato glut over the years, especially in the Upper East Region, resulting from lack of market, was leading companies to take advantage to cheat the farmers.
In May 2008, Mr Abayori alleged that Trusty Foods signed a production agreement with the association to cultivate 5000 hectors of tomatoes that would be purchased by the company. Though under the agreement Trusty Food was suppose to pre-finance land preparation, supply of fertilizer, agro-chemical and hybrid seeds for the farmers, the company failed to comply, leaving the members of the association to use their own resources.
“With the difficulties we encountered with this company, it would be prudent if due diligence is conducted before any farmer enters into any agreement with any company.”
However, as the debate over who farmers are to sell to and whose duty it is to address the perennial glut of tomatoes during the peak harvest season rages on, investors should take note that there is potential money making venture just close to them.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Ghana's Fish Deficit: Aquaculture Comes To Rescue
On countless occasions, experts have encouraged the public to eat more fish than meat since fish is more nutritious and healthy.
However, Ghana’s marine resources continue to dwindle, resulting in low catch by fishermen. Currently, the country’s total fish requirement stands at 88,000 metric tonnes but only 4, 200 metric tonnes of fish is produced.
Consequently, there is always a deficit as supply cannot meet demand. To make up for the deficit, there have been passionate appeals to Ghanaians to venture into aquaculture to help reduce fish imports into the country. Ghana imports $200,000,000 annually to make up for the annual deficit, and aquaculture could produce enough fish to offset the deficit of about 400,000 metric tons of the country's fish requirements. According to FAO statistics, aquaculture contributes to the global supply of fish, and in Ghana, it is playing a very important role. Aqua Farming is a non resource extractive food sector that is sustainable, renewable and provides safe, high quality food products to consumers while creating considerable benefits for the general population. Based on science and technology, it is a market driven sector that has emerged to provide consumers with value, taste and convenience in consumption of seafood and other aquatic products.
A number of people who have heard this call have ventured into aquaculture, either on fulltime or past time. Ghana can now boast of being the home to the second largest fish farm in Africa, the first is in South Africa.
A study has revealed that in irrigation schemes, fish farming is most likely to grow in Ashanti, Eastern, Northern part of Central Region, and the Greater Accra area.
Mark Amechi, the Managing Director of Tropo Farms Limited, an aqua culture fish farm with 40 acre hatchery and some 170 cages on the Volta Lake which is rated as the second biggest aqua farm in Africa, thinks that marine fish and farmed fish have different tastes, hence, deferent consumers.
However, when one wants fish, though taste is important, availability must be considered.
In Mark’s seven years as a fish farmer, he attest to the fact that the industry has a great potential but is sad that the activities of some unscrupulous group could affect this bright prospect.
In an interview at his cold store facility that has the bold inscription “Volta Catch”, located on the Tema-Akosombo road, Mark complained that the popping up of new farms on the Akosombo Gorge is worrying and that proper regulation needs to be done to ensure the industry achieves its full potential.
Mr. Amechi is afraid such unscrupulous investors in the industry might import faster growing tilapia as a result of the competition and that could lead to the pollution of the Lake.
Aquaculture requires clean growing waters to maintain a good level of production. Therefore, the industry which encourages environmentally-friendly practices on constant basis needs to take practical steps to protect the environment. In fact, without ensuring protection of the environment, the industry would flounder. Such safeguards include government measures controlling the introduction of new species and the transfer of fish, fish health protection, better site selection, and actions to minimize fish escapes and prevent waste discharges.
Complaining about the unregulated farms popping upstream of the Volta-Lake, Mr. Amechi says there are so many farms on the upstream of the Volta Lake and that needs to be regulated.
“Common sense and scientific evidence suggest that the firm spread out rather than pile up in one area,” he says.
He pleaded with the appropriate authorities to do something about the free-for-all happenings on the upstream before it gets out of hand, suggesting that monitoring of the operators in the industry would help but it should be done on a regular basis and not just once.
Concerned about the pollution of the lake, he expresses the fear that they could import faster growing tilapia and that will collapse the business of operators in the downstream basin who are given strict and expensive guidelines by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Water Resource Commission (WRC).
It is difficult these days to imagine taking a walk from one end of the street to the other without by-passing a restaurant that serves tilapia and banku with hot pepper. The truth is that there are restaurants scattered on the streets of Accra so much that sometimes one wonders who buys from the other. But the common thing to find on the menus of these restaurants or the local canteens, popularly called “chop bar’, is Tilapia.
The essential role aqua culture is playing is that in addition to providing more jobs, it is generating profit and as such, offering people to live better quality life.
According to the Manager of Tropo Farms, he expects to sell 2500 tonnes of tilapia by the end of this year as against the total yield of 2000 tonnes in 2008 which were all sold on the Ghanaian market.
The government of Ghana, through the then ministry of fisheries, now the fisheries commission, has for sometime now been aggressively pursuing the Aquaculture Development Policy as a profitable business venture and not as a hobby.
With support from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a project in the Volta Basin to develop fast growing specie, the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT), which would make fish farming commercially and economically attractive, has been pursued. GIFT takes about four to six months to mature for harvesting.
However, there are some hurdles that need to be tackled to make the industry attractive. Long procedures one has to go through to register a company, difficulty with acquiring genuine land, the absence of required skilled workforce, lack of finance, among others, are some of the problems involved in aquaculture, and Mark, who studied aqua culture for his Bachelor’s degree in Science in Hawaii, US and also majored in Aquaculture for his Masters of Science in Bangkok, China, experienced these problems when he decided to set up here in Ghana in 1996. Real production began in 2002 after the company was finally registered in 1997.
Mark, who had earlier tried establishing in Nigeria, said he came to Ghana because of the favourable business environment after seeing the big opportunity in the tilapia business here. Now, the company employs 450 casual and full time workers.
Mentioning that the aqua culture industry, just as others, is in difficult times as a result of the global financial crisis, he mentioned that the cost of feed meal is gradually becoming unbearable.
However, optimistic Mark intends to diversify his purely intensive tilapia culture and include catfish at a latter stage. “We can only diversify when there is profit but the cedi is done now,” says the Trop farm Manager.
As he spends about 16 hours a day either on his farm, or doing some administrative work in connection with the operations of Tropo farms, Mr. Amechi confirms that commercial aquaculture requires 200 per cent of commitment of time and effort.
According to the Kwesi Ahwoi, minister of Food and Agriculture the importation of especially frozen tilapia is forbidden while Mr Alfred Tettehbo, director of fisheries encouraged more people to undertake aquaculture as a business.
However, Ghana’s marine resources continue to dwindle, resulting in low catch by fishermen. Currently, the country’s total fish requirement stands at 88,000 metric tonnes but only 4, 200 metric tonnes of fish is produced.
Consequently, there is always a deficit as supply cannot meet demand. To make up for the deficit, there have been passionate appeals to Ghanaians to venture into aquaculture to help reduce fish imports into the country. Ghana imports $200,000,000 annually to make up for the annual deficit, and aquaculture could produce enough fish to offset the deficit of about 400,000 metric tons of the country's fish requirements. According to FAO statistics, aquaculture contributes to the global supply of fish, and in Ghana, it is playing a very important role. Aqua Farming is a non resource extractive food sector that is sustainable, renewable and provides safe, high quality food products to consumers while creating considerable benefits for the general population. Based on science and technology, it is a market driven sector that has emerged to provide consumers with value, taste and convenience in consumption of seafood and other aquatic products.
A number of people who have heard this call have ventured into aquaculture, either on fulltime or past time. Ghana can now boast of being the home to the second largest fish farm in Africa, the first is in South Africa.
A study has revealed that in irrigation schemes, fish farming is most likely to grow in Ashanti, Eastern, Northern part of Central Region, and the Greater Accra area.
Mark Amechi, the Managing Director of Tropo Farms Limited, an aqua culture fish farm with 40 acre hatchery and some 170 cages on the Volta Lake which is rated as the second biggest aqua farm in Africa, thinks that marine fish and farmed fish have different tastes, hence, deferent consumers.
However, when one wants fish, though taste is important, availability must be considered.
In Mark’s seven years as a fish farmer, he attest to the fact that the industry has a great potential but is sad that the activities of some unscrupulous group could affect this bright prospect.
In an interview at his cold store facility that has the bold inscription “Volta Catch”, located on the Tema-Akosombo road, Mark complained that the popping up of new farms on the Akosombo Gorge is worrying and that proper regulation needs to be done to ensure the industry achieves its full potential.
Mr. Amechi is afraid such unscrupulous investors in the industry might import faster growing tilapia as a result of the competition and that could lead to the pollution of the Lake.
Aquaculture requires clean growing waters to maintain a good level of production. Therefore, the industry which encourages environmentally-friendly practices on constant basis needs to take practical steps to protect the environment. In fact, without ensuring protection of the environment, the industry would flounder. Such safeguards include government measures controlling the introduction of new species and the transfer of fish, fish health protection, better site selection, and actions to minimize fish escapes and prevent waste discharges.
Complaining about the unregulated farms popping upstream of the Volta-Lake, Mr. Amechi says there are so many farms on the upstream of the Volta Lake and that needs to be regulated.
“Common sense and scientific evidence suggest that the firm spread out rather than pile up in one area,” he says.
He pleaded with the appropriate authorities to do something about the free-for-all happenings on the upstream before it gets out of hand, suggesting that monitoring of the operators in the industry would help but it should be done on a regular basis and not just once.
Concerned about the pollution of the lake, he expresses the fear that they could import faster growing tilapia and that will collapse the business of operators in the downstream basin who are given strict and expensive guidelines by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Water Resource Commission (WRC).
It is difficult these days to imagine taking a walk from one end of the street to the other without by-passing a restaurant that serves tilapia and banku with hot pepper. The truth is that there are restaurants scattered on the streets of Accra so much that sometimes one wonders who buys from the other. But the common thing to find on the menus of these restaurants or the local canteens, popularly called “chop bar’, is Tilapia.
The essential role aqua culture is playing is that in addition to providing more jobs, it is generating profit and as such, offering people to live better quality life.
According to the Manager of Tropo Farms, he expects to sell 2500 tonnes of tilapia by the end of this year as against the total yield of 2000 tonnes in 2008 which were all sold on the Ghanaian market.
The government of Ghana, through the then ministry of fisheries, now the fisheries commission, has for sometime now been aggressively pursuing the Aquaculture Development Policy as a profitable business venture and not as a hobby.
With support from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a project in the Volta Basin to develop fast growing specie, the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT), which would make fish farming commercially and economically attractive, has been pursued. GIFT takes about four to six months to mature for harvesting.
However, there are some hurdles that need to be tackled to make the industry attractive. Long procedures one has to go through to register a company, difficulty with acquiring genuine land, the absence of required skilled workforce, lack of finance, among others, are some of the problems involved in aquaculture, and Mark, who studied aqua culture for his Bachelor’s degree in Science in Hawaii, US and also majored in Aquaculture for his Masters of Science in Bangkok, China, experienced these problems when he decided to set up here in Ghana in 1996. Real production began in 2002 after the company was finally registered in 1997.
Mark, who had earlier tried establishing in Nigeria, said he came to Ghana because of the favourable business environment after seeing the big opportunity in the tilapia business here. Now, the company employs 450 casual and full time workers.
Mentioning that the aqua culture industry, just as others, is in difficult times as a result of the global financial crisis, he mentioned that the cost of feed meal is gradually becoming unbearable.
However, optimistic Mark intends to diversify his purely intensive tilapia culture and include catfish at a latter stage. “We can only diversify when there is profit but the cedi is done now,” says the Trop farm Manager.
As he spends about 16 hours a day either on his farm, or doing some administrative work in connection with the operations of Tropo farms, Mr. Amechi confirms that commercial aquaculture requires 200 per cent of commitment of time and effort.
According to the Kwesi Ahwoi, minister of Food and Agriculture the importation of especially frozen tilapia is forbidden while Mr Alfred Tettehbo, director of fisheries encouraged more people to undertake aquaculture as a business.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Biofuel, Threat To Food Security?
The search for alternative source of fuel, in the wake of instable and mostly rising oil prices, has generated intensive discussions about biofuel and one is tempted to inquire when this argument will end.
There are some complaints that the cultivation of crops for biofuels may compete with food production, thereby increasing food insecurity while others have maintained that the practice will not make people go hungry but rather enrich their pocket.
Biofuel sources depend on natural vegetation, on crops grown specifically for energy, or on agricultural or other forms of wastes and residues. Some of these crops such as cotton seed, maize, sun flower, soy, sugar cane, oil palm and sorghum, among others, have been described as first generation biofuels whilst second-generation biofuel production processes and Jatropha is one of them.
Ghana, last week, hosted the World Jatropha Summit, a two-day programme that solicited more investors into the biofuel industry.
Themed; “Towards Higher Yields, Large-Scale Production & Exports for the International Market”, the two-day summit, held in Accra between May 28 and 29 May 2009 which brought together experts and investors from across the globe, offered unique insights and experience of planting thousands of hectares in some parts of Africa, Asia, America and Russia.
Biofuel is the hot topic in many of these countries where there are large plantations and also in Europe where the market is these days. Politicians, business leaders and activists are talking about sustainability, and whether producing biofuel displaces food production and so bumps up prices. There were riots in some poorer countries last year over exactly that issue. But given the worries over climate change, investors from the U.S. and Europe are looking at Africa as a place to grow them.
In Ghana however, the cultivation of crops for biofuel has received criticisms, especially from Civil Society Organisation and other non-governmental organisations or non-political groups advocating food security.
Farmers in some parts of the country are loosing their livelihood to the use of their lands for the cultivation of biofuel crops.
Meanwhile, it would be prudent to mention that these groups have stated categorically that they do not oppose biofuel production or investment in that sector by either local or foreign investors in the country.
What raises brows about the operations of these foreign multinational companies in the biofuel industry is acquisition of fertile and productive agricultural land which is feared would affect the food production of Ghana and incidentally make the effort of reducing poverty as required by the United Nations Millennium Development Goal I (MDG) to no avail.
MDG 1 states that developing countries should work towards eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSpan), a pro-poor policies advocate in Ghana which has been campaigning for physical and economic access to adequate nutrition in term of quantity and quality has hinted that it is apprehensive of the danger associated with the spate and rate of land acquisitions for large-scale plantation, especially Jatropha, for biofuel production in the country.
To verify their concerns regarding the implication of livelihoods, food security and environment, FoodSpan, in partnership with Action aid Ghana, conducted a study from various locations where biofuel plantations are predominant such as the three Northern regions- Upper-East, Northern and Upper-West.
The findings of the study which covered the Volta, Eastern, Central and Ashanti regions have been disseminated to policy markers. Media personnel revealed that there were serious threats to livelihoods and food security, resulting from the land acquisition by the multinational companies for Jatropha cultivation.
The international companies export their products to Norway, Sweden, Singapore, the Americas and mostly to Europe.
“We are witnessing environmental destruction of biodiversity from the whole destruction of ecosystems and massive application of agro-chemicals for biofuels,” said David Eli, Chair of FoodSpan.
The major source of concern of those who have criticized biofuel production in Ghana is the absence of a comprehensive national policy on biofuel production to regulate and clearly point out the linkages among important sectors such as the environment, agriculture, industry, and energy.
In Ghana, Jatropha cannot be discussed without mentioning the late Onua Amoah who pushed biofuel production to the national limelight, which led to the establishment of a National Jatropha Project (NJP). NJP targets to cultivate one million hectares (1mha) of Jatropha plantations on available idle and degraded lands across the country over the period of 5 to 6 years.
To date, about 50,000 ha of land have been cultivated by 7 private companies.
The nonexistence of a clearly defined policy direction, they think, could seriously interfere with development processes and priorities “with far damaging consequences for our match to liberate ourselves from the shackles of underdevelopment, poverty, and deprivation that has often resulted from economic dominance of foreign interest,” said FoodSpan.
Kinsley Ofei Nkansah, General Secretary of the Ghana Agricultural workers union of the Ghana Trade Union Congress, is worried that Ghana and many other African countries have become targets and are currently experiencing enormous rush for land for biofuel production. “This trend is not healthy for the fight against food security, environmental degradation and poverty in the country.”
Ohene Akoto, country Director of Jatropha Africa which has about 120,000 hectors plantation at Kadelso near Kintampo in Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, in an interview shortly after the summit said, “The plant has been in existence for sometime but people do not know the economic value”.
Jatropha Africa which is three years old uses its improved seeds instead of the traditional seeds as the former has 40 per cent oil content and yields 2,5 tonnes of dry seeds per hectar whiles the later yields 0.8 tonnes.
Mr Akoto said Jatropha Africa wish it could operate in areas that has a well distributed rainfall throughout the year. however such places are meant for Ghana’s cash crop. In some parts of the central region and the Northern region, economic trees such as shea-nut and Dawadawa have been destroyed for biofuel plantation.
Another investor, Jack Holden of Gold Star Biofuel, said many countries have rejected his seeds, adding, “In Chile, we had our seeds destroyed but we have planted here and it is doing well; in three months, you have results.”
Hans Adu-Dapaah, Director of Crop Research Institute at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), when asked if there were any known negative effect on the environment, explained that though his outfit has done some form of study, “we have not done extensive research” as a result of lack of funding.
It has been stated in some circles that Jatropha poses a threat to the soil as the soil cannot be used for the cultivation of other crops in later years, but Frank Ata Owusu of KITE, a non-profit-making development organisation leading in the energy, technology and environment sector said the perception is as a result of a lack of agronomic facts.
Diligent Energy, a biofuel company that uses out growers in Tanzania, says it is putting up all the best practices in the industry as buyers in Europe will not buy from them if they do otherwise.
The company supplies 20,000 tonnes of jatropha to Boeing for the production of jet fuel, in addition to the producing vegetable oil, biogas, charcoal and other by products from Jatropha.
According to Ruud van Eck, Chief Executive Officer of Diligent Energy, the company pays 10 cent in dollar terms per kilo of dry seed to the out growers in Tanzania but Ohene Akoto, of Jatropha Africa says his company pays between 1.5 and 3 pesewas per kilo “ but we will gradually increase it and have a floor price.”
While Diligent Energy pays that much “to make the business attractive to the local farmers” who are constantly being encouraged to practice intercropping, Ulrich B Riemann, an investor with 160 hectors plantation near Accra says, “I can’t pay that much, how will I pay my other workers.”
To Riemann, the “Jatropha industry is ailing. Investors are being misled. The time for digging for gold in Jatropha is definitely over.”
Explaining that Jatropha enriches the soil and therefore helps other crops such as maize, beans, among other to crops, he hinted that “Jatropha is not viable when it is cultivated as a monocrop but when intercropping is practiced one stands to gain.”
For a fuller optimization of the benefits of biofuel production in Ghana, the government is being called on to “urgently set up an institution of a policy framework to regulate biofuel production in Ghana,” said Anna Antwi, Cordinator of FoodSpan.
The Ministry of food and agriculture said for a better legal and environmental regulation, there will be the need to amend National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Act 691 to accommodate.
Energy Commission in August 2005 set up a Bio fuel Committee to prepare a National Bio-fuel Policy to guide the development of the bio-fuel industry.
“I must say with all sadness that for about three and half years, this document has not been turned into a workable document,” said the deputy minister of Food and Agriculture.
some are of the view that since we have large tracks of land lying fallow, " why not use it for cultivation of biofuel crops?" said one of such advocates.
However, Frank Ata Owusu of KITE, who shares the same view with Ulrich, says Africa needs both food and energy and not one over the other, as farmers can combine food production with energy production with innovative technology coming into play or if energy crops are targeted to more marginal lands.
There are some complaints that the cultivation of crops for biofuels may compete with food production, thereby increasing food insecurity while others have maintained that the practice will not make people go hungry but rather enrich their pocket.
Biofuel sources depend on natural vegetation, on crops grown specifically for energy, or on agricultural or other forms of wastes and residues. Some of these crops such as cotton seed, maize, sun flower, soy, sugar cane, oil palm and sorghum, among others, have been described as first generation biofuels whilst second-generation biofuel production processes and Jatropha is one of them.
Ghana, last week, hosted the World Jatropha Summit, a two-day programme that solicited more investors into the biofuel industry.
Themed; “Towards Higher Yields, Large-Scale Production & Exports for the International Market”, the two-day summit, held in Accra between May 28 and 29 May 2009 which brought together experts and investors from across the globe, offered unique insights and experience of planting thousands of hectares in some parts of Africa, Asia, America and Russia.
Biofuel is the hot topic in many of these countries where there are large plantations and also in Europe where the market is these days. Politicians, business leaders and activists are talking about sustainability, and whether producing biofuel displaces food production and so bumps up prices. There were riots in some poorer countries last year over exactly that issue. But given the worries over climate change, investors from the U.S. and Europe are looking at Africa as a place to grow them.
In Ghana however, the cultivation of crops for biofuel has received criticisms, especially from Civil Society Organisation and other non-governmental organisations or non-political groups advocating food security.
Farmers in some parts of the country are loosing their livelihood to the use of their lands for the cultivation of biofuel crops.
Meanwhile, it would be prudent to mention that these groups have stated categorically that they do not oppose biofuel production or investment in that sector by either local or foreign investors in the country.
What raises brows about the operations of these foreign multinational companies in the biofuel industry is acquisition of fertile and productive agricultural land which is feared would affect the food production of Ghana and incidentally make the effort of reducing poverty as required by the United Nations Millennium Development Goal I (MDG) to no avail.
MDG 1 states that developing countries should work towards eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSpan), a pro-poor policies advocate in Ghana which has been campaigning for physical and economic access to adequate nutrition in term of quantity and quality has hinted that it is apprehensive of the danger associated with the spate and rate of land acquisitions for large-scale plantation, especially Jatropha, for biofuel production in the country.
To verify their concerns regarding the implication of livelihoods, food security and environment, FoodSpan, in partnership with Action aid Ghana, conducted a study from various locations where biofuel plantations are predominant such as the three Northern regions- Upper-East, Northern and Upper-West.
The findings of the study which covered the Volta, Eastern, Central and Ashanti regions have been disseminated to policy markers. Media personnel revealed that there were serious threats to livelihoods and food security, resulting from the land acquisition by the multinational companies for Jatropha cultivation.
The international companies export their products to Norway, Sweden, Singapore, the Americas and mostly to Europe.
“We are witnessing environmental destruction of biodiversity from the whole destruction of ecosystems and massive application of agro-chemicals for biofuels,” said David Eli, Chair of FoodSpan.
The major source of concern of those who have criticized biofuel production in Ghana is the absence of a comprehensive national policy on biofuel production to regulate and clearly point out the linkages among important sectors such as the environment, agriculture, industry, and energy.
In Ghana, Jatropha cannot be discussed without mentioning the late Onua Amoah who pushed biofuel production to the national limelight, which led to the establishment of a National Jatropha Project (NJP). NJP targets to cultivate one million hectares (1mha) of Jatropha plantations on available idle and degraded lands across the country over the period of 5 to 6 years.
To date, about 50,000 ha of land have been cultivated by 7 private companies.
The nonexistence of a clearly defined policy direction, they think, could seriously interfere with development processes and priorities “with far damaging consequences for our match to liberate ourselves from the shackles of underdevelopment, poverty, and deprivation that has often resulted from economic dominance of foreign interest,” said FoodSpan.
Kinsley Ofei Nkansah, General Secretary of the Ghana Agricultural workers union of the Ghana Trade Union Congress, is worried that Ghana and many other African countries have become targets and are currently experiencing enormous rush for land for biofuel production. “This trend is not healthy for the fight against food security, environmental degradation and poverty in the country.”
Ohene Akoto, country Director of Jatropha Africa which has about 120,000 hectors plantation at Kadelso near Kintampo in Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, in an interview shortly after the summit said, “The plant has been in existence for sometime but people do not know the economic value”.
Jatropha Africa which is three years old uses its improved seeds instead of the traditional seeds as the former has 40 per cent oil content and yields 2,5 tonnes of dry seeds per hectar whiles the later yields 0.8 tonnes.
Mr Akoto said Jatropha Africa wish it could operate in areas that has a well distributed rainfall throughout the year. however such places are meant for Ghana’s cash crop. In some parts of the central region and the Northern region, economic trees such as shea-nut and Dawadawa have been destroyed for biofuel plantation.
Another investor, Jack Holden of Gold Star Biofuel, said many countries have rejected his seeds, adding, “In Chile, we had our seeds destroyed but we have planted here and it is doing well; in three months, you have results.”
Hans Adu-Dapaah, Director of Crop Research Institute at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), when asked if there were any known negative effect on the environment, explained that though his outfit has done some form of study, “we have not done extensive research” as a result of lack of funding.
It has been stated in some circles that Jatropha poses a threat to the soil as the soil cannot be used for the cultivation of other crops in later years, but Frank Ata Owusu of KITE, a non-profit-making development organisation leading in the energy, technology and environment sector said the perception is as a result of a lack of agronomic facts.
Diligent Energy, a biofuel company that uses out growers in Tanzania, says it is putting up all the best practices in the industry as buyers in Europe will not buy from them if they do otherwise.
The company supplies 20,000 tonnes of jatropha to Boeing for the production of jet fuel, in addition to the producing vegetable oil, biogas, charcoal and other by products from Jatropha.
According to Ruud van Eck, Chief Executive Officer of Diligent Energy, the company pays 10 cent in dollar terms per kilo of dry seed to the out growers in Tanzania but Ohene Akoto, of Jatropha Africa says his company pays between 1.5 and 3 pesewas per kilo “ but we will gradually increase it and have a floor price.”
While Diligent Energy pays that much “to make the business attractive to the local farmers” who are constantly being encouraged to practice intercropping, Ulrich B Riemann, an investor with 160 hectors plantation near Accra says, “I can’t pay that much, how will I pay my other workers.”
To Riemann, the “Jatropha industry is ailing. Investors are being misled. The time for digging for gold in Jatropha is definitely over.”
Explaining that Jatropha enriches the soil and therefore helps other crops such as maize, beans, among other to crops, he hinted that “Jatropha is not viable when it is cultivated as a monocrop but when intercropping is practiced one stands to gain.”
For a fuller optimization of the benefits of biofuel production in Ghana, the government is being called on to “urgently set up an institution of a policy framework to regulate biofuel production in Ghana,” said Anna Antwi, Cordinator of FoodSpan.
The Ministry of food and agriculture said for a better legal and environmental regulation, there will be the need to amend National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Act 691 to accommodate.
Energy Commission in August 2005 set up a Bio fuel Committee to prepare a National Bio-fuel Policy to guide the development of the bio-fuel industry.
“I must say with all sadness that for about three and half years, this document has not been turned into a workable document,” said the deputy minister of Food and Agriculture.
some are of the view that since we have large tracks of land lying fallow, " why not use it for cultivation of biofuel crops?" said one of such advocates.
However, Frank Ata Owusu of KITE, who shares the same view with Ulrich, says Africa needs both food and energy and not one over the other, as farmers can combine food production with energy production with innovative technology coming into play or if energy crops are targeted to more marginal lands.
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