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August 23, 2018 - Source: Soybean Innovation Lab's Weekly Digest Volume 4 Issue 21 August 23rd, 2018
Students from the YouthMappers UCC chapter collecting data at Vester Oil Mills, a soybean processor near Kumasi, Ghana. Image credit: YouthMappers | Notes from the Field: YouthMappers Engage with Soy Value Chain through Immersive Field Data Collection SIL is collaborating with USAID’S YouthMappers on a student project to generate geographical information systems (GIS) data on the spatial configuration of key installations within the soybean value chain in and around Kumasi, Ghana. Students from the YouthMappers chapter at the University of Cape Coast conducted field research to collect spatial data and information about soybean processing and storage facilities in the Kumasi area. The students learned how to use GIS tools such as KoboCollect, developed and fielded quantitative and qualitative surveys of facility managers, and collected data on how soy is aggregated, purchased, stored, processed and shipped in the region. These data contribute to SIL’s research focused on the spatial and value chain economics of the Ghanaian soybean complex. “The answers provided by our respondent were quite interesting. For an agricultural based country like Ghana, we were surprised to learn about the challenges our first respondent faced when he tries to acquire soybean from the local farmers, transport the produce and market it. This field work has given the team an insight to a gap in the agricultural sector which we couldn’t have known about before, and met processors and managers in Kumasi and Sunyani which we wouldn’t have before.” Read more SIL Notes from the Field. |
SIL’s new podcast series, SoyBytes, offers listeners an in-depth perspective on SIL’s work – directly from the experts themselves! Image credit: SIL | SoyBytes: Dr. Juan Andrade Discusses the Role of Soy in Early Childhood Nutrition
SIL experts and partners are involved in a number of initiatives and programs designed to improve production and utilization of soybean in Sub-Saharan Africa. SIL’s new podcast series, SoyBytes, offers an inside look at SIL innovations and technologies, direct from the experts themselves. In this SoyByte, Dr. Juan Andrade discusses how soy can be included in complementary foods for infants and young children in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. When infants begin to transition from breastfeeding to solid foods at six months, they require additional nutrients, including more protein. If these nutrition needs are not met, malnutrition at this stage can have lifelong consequences on a child’s cognitive and physical development. Learn more about SIL’s work on Complementary and Weaning Foods! |
| SIL Researcher Receives Grant for Soybean Value Chain Project with Church of the Brethren Next month, Dennis Thompson, a SIL researcher who leads the lab’s seed systems efforts, will collaborate with with Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN – the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) to lead a soybean value chain learning trip to Ghana. While there, Thompson will work with SIL’s in-country partners at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)-Ghana to educate the EYN team on the importance of inputs and appropriate agronomic practices to achieve high soybean yields, showcased at SIL’s SMART Farm. |
| This Week’s Recipe: Soyabean Chicken Soup! This soup blends the flavors of soy, chicken, tomato, fish, peppers, and onions to make a filling and savory soup. The recipe was taken from Soyabeans in the Nigerian Diet. Extension Bulletin No.21. National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services. Ahmadu Bello University. |
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August 7, 2018 - Source: The Ghana Glance: USAID/Ghana
USAID/Ghana's Power Africa program signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Ghana for the second iteration of the Power Africa initiative. The signing ceremony took place following a high-level discussion between Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and several high ranking Ghanaian officials, including President Nana Akufo-Addo. The Memorandum commits USAID and the Government to work together to improve energy access in Ghana and to expand cooperation between the two governments to support Ghana's goal of increasing its supply of electricity to 4,900 megawatts by 2023 and to increase its electricity service rate to 90% by 2020. Expected Result: Under "Power Africa 2.0," the USAID intends to increase its focus on access, transmission and distribution infrastructure, the necessary enabling environment for sustained private investment in the power sector, and facilitating African countries’ journey towards self-reliance. | |
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August 3, 2018 - Source: Fisheries in the News; A service of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the Fisheries Commission. Compiled by the Sustainable Fisheries Management Project, USAID GHANA.
Prampram fisherfolk back government fishing ban, but call for enforcement of laws on IUU Fishermen at the Prampram Landing Beach in the Ningo Prampram district, have backed government's policy for the 2018 closed season scheduled for August 7 to September 4, 2018, to save the industry from total collapse. | |
Ghanaian government to introduce aquaculture jobs program as fishing ban kicks in Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye, Ghana's minister for fisheries and aquaculture development, has hinted to plans to introduce an "aquaculture for food and jobs" program, Daily Guide Africa reported. The initiative is intended to – in a long run – benefit the nation by promoting fishing and creating employment for Ghanaians, according to the minister. The program is currently on pilot at some selected sites and will soon be unveiled. “We are promoting aquaculture,” Afoley said. Deputy minister for fisheries and aquaculture development, Kingsley Ato Cudjoe, said that the fishing season had been closed, as previously announced, to achieve "sustainable fishing and also help replenish the depleting fish stock in the marine sub-sector". But fishermen have expressed reservations about the move, arguing that it will deprive them of theirlivelihood. Source: Undercurrent News | |
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Ghana issued accreditation to inspect, certify fish products for export Ghana has been issued with an international accreditation licence to inspect, verify and certify fish in all forms before it is sold on the international market. The licence, issued by the internationally recognised accreditation body, Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH (DAKKS), was specifically issued to the Fish Inspection Department of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA). | |
90% of fish stocks are used up – fisheries subsidies must stop The name of our planet is misleading. We call it Earth. Yet, over 70% of its surface is covered by the ocean. Sometimes we forget how essential the ocean is for the water we drink, the air we breathe, for human activity and for life. Year after year, we have been pushing the boundaries of the ocean’s sustainability, and in so doing we have been challenging our own. | |
Africa threatened by Asian fish imports Evidence suggests that government policies to protect their borders from illegal fish imports are proving ineffective, while other governments have virtually endorsed foreign tilapia imports as a necessary evil. |
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June 29, 2018 - Source: The Ghana Glance: USAID/Ghana
A look inside the newly launched fish processing center. Photo Credit: USAID/Ghana Photo Archive | March 29, USAID and the Central and Western Region Fishmongers Improvement Association (CEWEFIA) launched a modern fish processing center at Elmina in Ghana’s Central Region in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD) and the Fisheries Commission. The facility was supported under the Sustainable Fisheries Management Project. It not only provides a hygienic and conducive place for the fishmongers, but also the improved “Ahoto ovens” for smoking fish, which use 30% less wood and significantly reduce the health risks for CEWEFIA’s members. At the event Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Fisheries Ago Cudjoe, stated that the formal announcement of the closed season for Ghana’s small pelagic fisheries is imminent. Ghanaians consume almost twice the global average of fish, which accounts for 60% of the animal protein in their diet. Expected Result: To promote productivity in Ghana’s coastal fisheries industry, meeting a core requirement for the new Class I hygienic fish processing facility certification implemented by the Fisheries Commission and the Ghana National Standards Authority strengthening livelihood opportunities for women. |
March 31, USAID and the Association of Ghana Solar Industries (AGSI) held an industry breakfast meeting in Accra on Regulatory Issues and Challenges Facing the Renewable Energy Industry in Ghana with the Ministry of Energy (MoEn) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). It was sponsored by the Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Program. The exchange with MoEn centered on the government’s policies on renewable energy (RE) targets, urban rooftop solar, and isolated mini-grids and how they has limited private sector investment in these spaces. The GRA executives briefed AGSI’s members on the changes that Ghana is introducing to harmonize its tax and customs regime with the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, which is increasing the cost of solar power to un-electrified communities. Expected Result: Ghana is a leader in expanding electricity service to its population, but to achieve universal access by 2030 as it committed to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Seven it will have to accelerate the deployment of off-grid solutions, primarily enabled by solar power. |
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